A Moment in Time
by Holz9364
Summary: When a cloaked figure saves Harry Potter from the ruins of his home in Godric's Hollow, history is vastly altered. Harry is no longer destined to grow up in the Muggle world, but is instead raised by his Godfather and those who love him most. How will this alter the outcome of the war? Read to find out! Wolfstar, rated M for mature and upsetting themes.
1. Part 1 - Chapter 1

A Moment in Time

 **1**

The scene in the sleepy little village was cold, dark and foreboding. There were icicles hanging from the roofs of the thatched cottages. The air was icy with the only person in the streets shallow breaths. The sky was black and starless. The skull in the sky had an eerie green coloured glow, it cast a pale green light over the entire street. The houses were bathed in shadows as the dark clouds moved across the moon. One house stood out against the dark skyline, one house stood out against the perfectly straight row of beautiful old thatched cottages. It stood out because it was in a state of demolition; it looked like a perfect ruin as it stood in the eerie green light. There was an air of mystery about the scene, it was clear that strange and mysterious things had happened there. The roof of the house was half blown off and what was left was swaying in the high, whistling winds which roared as they ripped through the house, reaching every crevice and leaving it open to the elements.

The street was silent, not an owl hooted nor a soul seemed to stir. No one had heard the noises, not the bang, nor the shouts, nor the screams, nor the yell of despair. No one had yet been alerted to the disaster; to everyone else this was a perfectly ordinary night. Yet one man was there before anyone else, one man who had tried all that he could to stop it, yet he had failed.

As the man, considered by everyone within the country to be dead, made his way into the house at a snail's pace he could feel his heart beating quickly. He had died himself, he knew death well and he smelled death the moment he stepped into the house. His blood froze in his veins. He knew he was too late as he made his way up the stairs, inhaling sharply when he saw the cold, dead body of James Potter lying there. His breathing quickened as he reached the landing and saw the green light at the end of the hall shining into what he realised must be the baby's room. He knew what to expect already, he had known the moment he apparated into the street but he had prayed and hoped all the same that he was wrong. His sense of dread furthered as he got closer to the blasted apart doorway and when he eventually mustered the strength to push himself through it into the room his knees buckled underneath him causing him to crash helplessly onto his knees on the floor.

Lily Potter was dead just like her husband. The green sky outside lit up with a flash of lightning and the skull loomed overhead, it lit up the room and the look of fear on Lily's face became evident. She had died because he had failed. He had not gotten to the house fast enough; he had been unable to do any good as seemed to be the usual for him as of late. He had done all he could but 'all he could' never seemed to be good enough, three innocents had lost their lives tonight to prove that.

A scream of fear, a wail almost, pulled the man from his horror-stricken daze and for the first time he saw the little boy in the cot in the corner of the room. He was old enough to stand and was holding onto the bars of the cot as if for dear life as he stared at his dead mother with his large green eyes. At first the man breathed a sigh of relief, he had not failed completely. If he could save the child then he could say that he had at least done something. However, his relief was soon overcome with a feeling of horror. The wailing boy had seen everything. He had witnessed his Mother die at the hands of Lord Voldemort, he had probably heard his Father's last moments too. This small infant who could barely be more than one year of age had witnessed horrors before he was old enough to walk.

He was not sure what prompted him. Perhaps it was an affinity with a child who had seen horrors that the man himself had seen. He rose to his feet, walked to the cot and looked down at the boy. When he got to the cot the boy stopped crying and looked inquisitively at the man before raising his arms as if asking to be lifted. Unsure of himself, the man reached down and lifted the boy up, allowing him to bury his head into his chest. He stood in the ruined nursery with shaky legs, holding a terrified child who had been orphaned because he hadn't been fast enough. Yet, he felt that he had a purpose here, he had a feeling that somehow he was meant to be here in this moment.

A scrabbling sound made him spin around and he saw a rat scurrying out of the ruins below. The man frowned and threw a spell downwards, testing his own curiosity. A shriek followed and the rat became a man, the figure holding the child knew the man to be Peter Pettigrew. He threw a curse downwards as the scurrying man tried to escape, it stunned him and bound him to the gate post of the house.

The man wondered whether he should stay and explain to the authorities. He then heard the first crack, the sound of Wizards apparating into the street below, the first screams of sorrow and shouts of shock, anger and despair. He heard loud voices asking why this man was chained here, he heard a familiar voice shout that this man was the Potters secret keeper, that he had given them up.

The man holding the child decided to sweep him away from all of this until such a time when it was safer for him to be out in the open. He closed his eyes, spun and left the scene. The noise of his disapparation was covered by the sounds on the street below him.

The mystical figure who had swept in to save the child was known to most as Regulus Arcturus Black.

 **TBC.**

 **A/N: This is a complete re-write of a story I had up on here before called 'Eyes Open'. I started writing Eyes Open years ago when I still used to ship Severus x Lily like crazy, but when I came back to try and finish it I found I really struggled to identify with the ship and I just couldn't write it.**

 **I didn't want to throw the story away, so I kept the same basic plot but rejigged everything else, including the main character so it's pretty unrecognisable compared to the original story.**

 **All the same, I hope someone will enjoy it!**


	2. Part 1 - Chapter 2

A Moment in Time

 **2**

When Regulus spun into view at the gate to the manor house he was using as a safe house, he realised that he had just abducted a child. He froze for a moment where he stood beneath the dark, twisted iron wrought gates. What was he to do now? Regulus wondered as he slowly made his way up the winding path, the overgrown garden on both sides crept in on him and made him feel as though there were countless eyes in the bushes watching him. Surely they would realise the boy was gone, or would they think he had been killed like his parents? But no, they would wonder why there was no body.

Regulus shuddered as he reached the large black oak doors where the peeling paint revealing the white underneath. He supposed this had once been a grand whitewashed building, a sight much like Malfoy Manor, but it had been left to rot as the elements slowly wore it down.

Regulus placed his hand on the door, the powerful wards he had set up on the place recognised him. The door swung open with a loud creak and the entrance hall lit up automatically upon his entrance. The moment the door clicked shut behind him a large crack made him jump and caused the baby boy in his arms to begin to cry.

"Dobby is sorry Master Regulus!" The small elf squeaked, he was a relatively young house-elf with the same beige-pink skin and large tennis ball sized eyes that any other elf had. Dobby had bright green eyes and wore what looked to be a recently cleaned pure white pillow case. Regulus had been given the elf on loan when he went on the run, he had never found out who saved him from the inferi that had dragged him below the water, but he knew that his saviour had also sent him this elf.

Getting over his initial shock and putting his jumpiness down to the fact he was now a child abductor Regulus merely shook his head at his elf, "It is my fault Dobby, I was not expecting to be bringing a guest home with me."

The elf nodded, his large eyes moving to the baby in Regulus's arm, the baby who had stopped crying due to the gentle rocking motion Regulus had been applying subconsciously.

"Master appears to be very good at pacifying baby," Dobby noticed, as shocked as Regulus was at this strange instinct he had never before noticed he had.

Regulus could only ponder on this thought as he himself was not sure why he was good at this, he had never held a baby in his life. Yet he seemed to know how to do it, like in a past life he had done this before.

"Does the baby belong to Master?" Dobby asked.

"No Dobby," Regulus replied, "I sort of…kidnapped the baby."

Dobby's large eyes widened in horror, "You did Master?"

"Yes Dobby," Regulus frowned, "You see, he is an orphan and I fear for his life. The man you were following, the one you said had become a Death Eater?"

Dobby nodded fervently, "He is Master! Dobby saw him with the other Death Eater, a one they call Travers."

"I believe you Dobby," Regulus assured the elf, "I knew that man when I was at Hogwarts. He was a friend of my older brother, Sirius. I followed him because I had a sneaking suspicion he was up to something."

Dobby nodded once more, enthralled by the tale.

"I got to the little town known as Godric's Hollow where my trace told me he was but I was too late. This child's parents had already been killed, but the boy miraculously survived. I suspect that Pettigrew led Lord Voldemort there but there was no trace of him when I arrived mere moments after the events had taken place."

"What does that mean Master?"

"I do not know yet," Regulus replied, looking down at the child, "But the boy has a mark on his forehead, a cursed mark. Whatever happened in that house, it was strange and mysterious."

"But Master Regulus, does the baby have no relatives?"

"Only his Godfather I believe," Regulus replied, a dark look passing across his face, "Whose custody I will hand him over into, once I am certain that the danger has passed."

Dobby nodded slowly, "Would Master like a bottle of milk for baby?" he asked as he followed Regulus into the small study off of the entrance hall.

Regulus merely nodded to the elf as he sat down in a comfortable armchair and watched the boy with fascination. He didn't understand why he felt so drawn to the child. The crack of Dobby disappearing pulled Regulus out of his daze and he looked around, making sure he was alone before he spoke to the boy.

"So you must be Harry," He spoke quietly and gently, "I had heard about you being born. Sirius must have been so proud to be your Godfather, I'm sure he has spoiled you rotten. I am so sorry that I couldn't get to your parents in time, little Harry."

Another crack made Regulus jump and awoke the slumbering baby in his arms who squinted at the sound and looked extremely confused. The sight made Regulus smile very slightly. Dobby quietly apologised for the wait and handed Regulus a baby bottle, "Can Dobby get Master anything else?" he asked.

"Can you prepare a cot in my room for Harry please?" Regulus asked as he placed the tip of the bottle in Harry's mouth. The little boy gratefully sucked and Regulus realised he was probably extremely thirsty. Harry took the bottle in his little hands and watched Regulus as he drank from it. Regulus felt like this little boy could look into his soul and it unnerved him slightly.

When Harry had finished his bottle Regulus lifted the boy and made his way up the long winding staircase to the master bedroom on the 2nd floor of the manor. When he reached the room he found that Dobby had already placed the cot in the corner as he had requested. Regulus gently placed Harry in the cot and sat down on his own bed, taking off his cloak and shoes for the first time since he had gotten home.

Harry didn't go to sleep like Regulus had hoped however, he merely sat up and looked at Regulus through the bars, Regulus stared back but the baby didn't seem to understand the concept of a staring contest. Eventually Regulus sighed and picked Harry up, he lay the one-year-old down on his own bed and let him burrow into his side, he lay there for a long time watching the boy who was now technically his charge, listening to his shallow breathing.

The sound somehow relaxed him and Regulus got to thinking about how he had ended up in such a bizarre situation. Oddly enough, it was nice to have human contact, even if that human was a child. He had spent the last 2 years in hiding, rarely being able to slip out of the manor safe house that he called his home. He had spent the last 2 years with only Dobby, a rather quirky if loyal house elf, as company. Regulus had no choice of course, he had literally died while betraying his master, he knew that he couldn't come out of the woodwork until that master had disappeared.

It had all begun when that master asked for his house elf, faithful Kreacher. He had used that elf to test his defences on a precious object and he had nearly killed Kreacher while doing so. Regulus had been outraged and had asked the elf to take him back to the cave so that he could get revenge on his master. He remembered retrieving the item, a locket that had once belonged to Salazar Slytherin. He remembered ordering Kreacher to leave with the locket and the elf had done so while the inferi in the cave dragged Regulus into the treacherous water.

He had been sure he was dead but his next memory was of him awaking in a safe house with two elves leaning over him, Kreacher and the one he now knew to be Dobby. Kreacher had told him that he had been saved from the lake but he could not tell Regulus who had done that saving. He simply said he had to return to Grimmauld Place but that Regulus would be well looked after by Dobby.

In truth, Regulus missed Kreacher. For a long time, the elf had been his only real friend and confidante, as sad as that was. However, Dobby had a special place in his heart too. The intriguing thing about what had happened in that cave was this: Regulus had awoken with no sign of the dark mark upon his arm. He had done copious amounts of reading and from that he had drawn the conclusion that he had actually died in that cave and someone had resuscitated him. He could see no other way for the mark to remove itself when his former master was so obviously still in power.

Since that literal wake up call, Regulus had being doing all that he could to help those working for the light and to thwart those working for Voldemort. He used Dobby as a spy and he had saved a few lives, including that of Marlene and Matthew McKinnon, and that was almost enough.

However, being unable to save his brothers closest friend, that cut him deeply. He had saved his brothers Godson, but would he be forgiven by Sirius for James's fate? Regulus often pondered if Sirius would be able to forgiven him for the terrible things he had done before he had seen the light.

Regulus shut this thought out and focused on the more important matter. The question running through his mind as the first of the morning light began to stream through the window, lighting up the entire room with its harsh orange light, was the question of why was this little boy alive? Why had Harry survived? The mark on his forehead, combined with the fact that both of his parents had been killed by the killing curse, made Regulus form the conclusion that Voldemort had tried to kill Harry too. But how could this boy have survived the killing curse when so many before him had not?

It could only mean that he was the one destined to vanquish the Dark Lord for good. Regulus had heard whispers in the wind and had put the pieces together from the intel that Dobby brought him. A prophecy had been made, a prophecy stating that the dark lord was to be vanquished by someone whose parents had thrice defied him. That child must be Harry Potter and he was the one who would vanquish Voldemort. Regulus didn't believe his former master was dead, he wasn't human enough to die, the locket he had retrieved was a horcrux and Regulus believed there was more than one of those. Voldemort had been weakened and there would be peace for a time, but he would be back and when he returned Regulus had a horrible sinking feeling that it would be down to the little sleeping boy to finish him off.

He wasn't going to have an easy life, it was going to be a hard uphill battle and he needed a family to get him through that, people who loved him and who cared about him. Regulus knew that he wasn't that person but his brother could be, his brother and Remus Lupin could give this boy the love and care that he needed.

Before he knew it, the sun had risen and an owl tapped on the window with _'The Daily Prophet.'_ Regulus felt the knot in his stomach tighten when he realised what would be in this morning's paper. He opened the window and paid the owl its Knut. After checking on Harry Regulus sat down in an armchair by the bed and unravelled the paper, with a sense of dread he glanced down and looked at the front page.

It was just as bad as he had imagined.

" _You-Know-Who vanquished! But where is Harry Potter?"_

Underneath the headline was a picture of the house, looking just as eerie as it had when Regulus had appeared on the scene, the house was half blown apart with the dark mark leering at it from the sky. Regulus felt sick as he began to read the accompanying article.

" _L_ _ast night at around 11.39pm, ministry workers were alerted to a disturbance in Godric's Hollow. The sight that they were greeted with when they appeared on the scene was extremely disturbing. The roof of the Potter home was blown off and the dark mark was high in the sky. It seems that the family were the latest victims of You-Know-Who. James Potter and Lily Potter (nee Evans) were found in the house deceased, the cause evident, the killing curse. However the mystery at the moment is where is their son Harry Potter? It seems that he has vanished without a trace. One of the first workers to the scene was Auror Sirius Black, close friend of the Potter family, he appeared visibly distraught and shocked at the death of his friends and alarmed by the disappearance of his Godson, Harry. It has become clear to the ministry that the Potters were betrayed by their secret keeper and close childhood friend. Peter Pettigrew was found chained to the Potter's gate, it is unknown who placed him there. He confessed his guilt to the Ministry shortly after being arrested and has been sentenced to life in Azkaban prison. It is clear that Pettigrew was recruited by You-Know-Who and betrayed the Potters location, leading You-Know-Who straight to their door._

 _Ministry workers and Headmaster of Hogwarts School, Albus Dumbledore, along with Black have been searching all night for any trace of Harry and believe that he is alive and in safe hands. In a statement to this reporter Dumbledore informed the Prophet that "I believe he has been taken into safe hands and will soon be found. I would advise the Wizarding World not to worry about the disappearance of the boy, we would know if he was dead"._

 _Nonetheless, it appears that something strange happened at the Potter house this Halloween night as You-Know-Who has been vanquished for good! But what caused this? We may never know, but the priority at the moment is finding Harry Potter._

 _All of our prayers are with you Harry, may you be safe."_

Regulus sighed. Harry stirred and started to cry, pulling Regulus out of his thoughts, he picked the boy up and carried him downstairs before clicking his fingers to summon his house elf.

Dobby appeared with a crack that alarmed Harry, "Dobby, could you fetch some baby food and a bottle please?" Regulus asked as he transfigured a wooden chair into a high chair and the tablecloth into a small toy.

"Of course Master Regulus," Dobby said and with another crack he was gone. When Regulus settled Harry into the high chair and handed him the toy he calmed down and sucked on the toy, quieting him for the moment.

The quiet did not last long. Within a few minutes the fire in the kitchen had roared to life, Regulus jumped to his feet and on instinct guarded Harry. The flames turned green and a figure emerged from the flames, Regulus trained his wand on said figure as he tried to work out who had just stumbled upon his safe house.

"Hello Regulus," She said with an exasperated smile, "Abducting children as well as being a villain in hiding now, are we?"

Regulus tightened his grip on his wand. The woman who had just stepped into his home was his cousin, one of his more reasonable cousins at that.

"Narcissa! How did you find me here? How did you even know that I was alive? Everyone thinks that I'm dead!" Regulus rattled off.

Narcissa flicked her blonde hair over her shoulder and fixed him with her icy blue eyes. Those eyes had always been so good at penetrating his guard, at seeing through his disguise, "Oh Regulus, 2 years in isolation has done you no good. You were so intelligent at school."

Regulus frowned, "What?"

Narcissa rolled her eyes, "How would I know that you are alive _and_ where you were if it wasn't me who saved you in the first place?"

"You?" Regulus asked.

"Me," Narcissa smirked, "And I even gave you my favourite house elf on loan, aren't I good to you?"

"Dobby!" Regulus cried in alarm, for the first time noticing the house elf by her side.

Dobby waved and looked sheepish, as sheepish as a house elf could look anyway, "Dobby is sorry Master Regulus."

Regulus's head was spinning, "You saved me in the cave Narcissa?"

"Yes, I did," Narcissa said smoothly.

"How?" Regulus asked in disbelief.

"Kreacher came to me and told me what you had done…" Narcissa began.

" _Mistress Cissy!"_

 _Narcissa spun around at the high-pitched voice, "Kreacher! Whatever brings you here?"_

" _Master Regulus! He is dying Mistress, please help, please."_

 _Narcissa nodded fervently, "Of course Kreacher, where is he?"_

" _Come," Kreacher said. He reached out and gripped Narcissa's hand, sweeping them both away with house elf apparition._

 _When they landed on steady ground Narcissa felt momentarily sick. She surveyed her surroundings and Kreacher cried, "They dragged him under!"_

" _Accio Regulus Black!"_

 _There was a great splash and Regulus's pale unconscious form was raised from the water. There were three or four inferi clinging to him which moved towards Narcissa once Regulus's body had landed on the shore where they stood._

" _Incendio!"_

 _The inferi shrunk back into the water and Narcissa dropped to her knees next to Regulus. She murmured a spell that expelled all of the water from his lungs and held him up in a sitting position as she did so. She checked his pulse but found none and her heart pumped faster as she tried to save his life._

 _Narcissa held her wand to his chest and shot a burst of energy into his body. He convulsed and coughed, spluttering as if he still had water in his throat. She breathed a sigh of relief and looked directly at Kreacher, "He is not safe, take him to the Black family safe house and tell him to stay there. You must return to Grimmauld Place but I will send a house elf to nurse him back to health and care for him."_

 _Kreacher nodded sincerely, grabbed his Masters body and disapparated._

"…And I expect the next thing you remember is waking up in the safe house," Narcissa finished.

"I have so much to thank you for," Regulus said softly, "And to think I thought you were on the wrong side, on _his_ side."

"Lucius is on his side," Narcissa said, a dark look upon her face, "Or was on his side, should I say?"

Regulus shook his head, "He isn't dead, only weakened. He will be back but I cannot say when."

"I had feared that. When he does return Lucius will run back into his arms, I'm sure," Narcissa said bitterly, "He loves power after all. However, I don't follow my husband blindly."

"I see that now," Regulus admitted, "How did you convince him to part with your house elf? Was he not suspicious?"

Narcissa scoffed, "Of course not, Dobby is not our only house elf. Do you think me an imposter of a Slytherin? I engineered it so that he was not in the slightest bit suspicious…"

" _Dobby!"_

" _Yes Mistress Narcissa?"_

 _Narcissa cocked her head at the elf, "You see that vase there?"_

" _Dobby sees the vase that once belonged to Master Lucius's great Grandfather," Dobby nodded._

" _Well," Narcissa said, "I order you to smash it."_

 _Dobby's eyes widened, "But Master Lucius will kill Dobby, mistress!"_

 _Narcissa rolled her eyes, "Of course he won't. Just smash the vase Dobby, I promise that you will not get killed for it. You may get sent somewhere else, but you will not die."_

 _Dobby had no choice but to obey. He closed his eyes tightly and threw the vase to the ground with house elf magic where it shattered into a thousand or more pieces._

 _Narcissa shrieked, "Dobby, you stupid house elf! That vase was a priceless Malfoy heirloom! Sectumsempra! Incendio!"_

 _The elf squealed loudly as the two curses flew by his head. Narcissa stopped them before they could hit the wall and then with a silent flick of her wand she performed a banishing charm, sending Dobby to the safe house where Kreacher and Regulus awaited him._

 _Seconds later Lucius ran into the room, "What is this?" he hissed._

 _Narcissa swallowed hard and said, "One of the foolish house elves broke it with his magic! Needless to say I beheaded the wretch and banished his burning remains, how dare he deface a family heirloom of such value!"_

" _How dare you let him do it?" Lucius growled, "You are the lady of this house, you ought to learn to control your subjects better!"_

 _Narcissa nodded dimly, "I am dreadfully sorry, Lucius."_

" _You will be if it ever happens again!" Lucius snapped, sweeping towards the door and leaving Narcissa alone with the wreck of a vase…_

"You risked your Husband's wrath to save me and send me this elf?" Regulus asked in surprise.

"Family is family, Regulus. Blood comes before marriage," Narcissa said.

"But you barely know me," Regulus frowned, "My Mother hated your Mother, I saw you two or three times as a child."

Narcissa shrugged, "Family still means something, regardless of how estranged we may be. Now, speaking of family, you have to return the child to his Godfather, it is safe now."

"I know," Regulus said, swallowing hard, "But his Godfather and I didn't part on the best terms."

" _Sirius!"_

 _Sirius froze on the doorstep as the heavy door behind him was thrown open. He didn't want to turn around and look at his little brother, he knew that it would make it harder to leave._

 _His heart was still pumping quickly from the adrenaline of his last fight with his parents. His Hogwarts trunk was clutched in his hand. He shut his eyes tightly as the heavy door shut with a slam and a quiet voice from behind him begged, "Sirius, don't go."_

 _Sirius sighed and turned around. It broke his heart to see tears on Regulus's cheeks, "I can't stay here anymore Regulus, I have to get away."_

" _It's only at summer," Regulus said tearfully, "Can't you just handle it for one more summer? You won't leave me here all alone, will you?"_

" _You'll be fine, you're a Slytherin like our parents always wanted," Sirius said, bitterness slipping into his voice, "You'll be a dark wizard, you'll make them proud."_

" _What if I don't want to be any of that?" Regulus asked, he was still a child, only 14 years old._

 _Sirius shrugged, "It's who you were born to be."_

" _It's who you were born to be too," Regulus said, "And you went against them."_

" _And look where it got me," Sirius said, "Disowned by morning no doubt! You couldn't handle that Regulus, you love our parents too much to defy them. We both know that…it's why I didn't ask you to come with me."_

 _Regulus frowned, "What…what do you mean?"_

" _I thought about it," Sirius promised him, "I even spoke to James and his parents about it. If I had thought for one second that you would say yes, I would take you away with me today. I would take you away from this horrible place and those monsters."_

" _Mother and Father are not monsters," Regulus said._

 _Sirius smiled sadly, "And that's what separates us Regulus."_

 _Regulus's tears bubbled up and he turned his temper on his brother, "You're being selfish! I thought Gryffindors were supposed to be brave but you're just running away!"_

" _I'm running away before I become like those monsters!" Sirius snapped, pointing towards the house, "Before I can watch you become a monster like them! Do you think I want to watch my little brother grow up to be a dark wizard who likes to hurt people he thinks of as inferior? That's not what I want Regulus!"_

" _It's not what I want either!" Regulus shouted, "Being in Slytherin doesn't mean that I'll be a terrible person. I'll show you one day!"_

 _Sirius sighed and turned away from his brother, "I wish you would," he said sincerely._

 _Without waiting for a reply he spun on his heel and left the doorstep of the house for the last time in many, many years._

"The longer you put it off, the worse it will be," Narcissa said logically, pulling Regulus out of his thoughts.

"I suppose."

"I will come with you, if you wish."

"How will your Husband feel about that?" Regulus quipped.

"With this war on its way to being over, I want to see just how quickly I can divorce my husband," Narcissa said with a raised eyebrow, "For my own reasons, before you ask why. You and Sirius always were rather nosy."

"I won't ask," Regulus promised, glancing behind him at Harry, "But I will accept your offer to come with me. I don't trust Sirius not to kill me on the spot."

"Nor do I," Narcissa quipped, "And I didn't go to all of this trouble to save your life just to let you get killed scarcely 2 years later."

"I'm glad my life means so much to you," Regulus joked.

Narcissa raised an eyebrow, "You have just abducted a child, the child who apparently vanquished Lord Voldemort. All of wizarding Britain is looking for that child and you don't exactly have the best track record. Do you really think now is a good time to joke?"

Regulus swallowed and shook his head, "No, I suppose not."

Narcissa shook her head irritably and threw some floo powder into the fire, "I suppose you know where you brother lives?"

"Unfortunately, yes," Regulus replied, lifting Harry from his high chair and bundling him up in his arms.

"Then lead the way," Narcissa said, pointing towards the fire.

Regulus rolled his eyes and bit back a comment about his older cousin being incredibly bossy as he stepped into the flames, holding Harry close to his chest.

 **TBC.**


	3. Part 1 - Chapter 3

A Moment in Time

 **3**

When Albus Dumbledore apparated into the street where the disaster had happened in Godric's Hollow, it was to find the place full of reporters and ministry workers from over 7 different departments. There were cameras flashing as two bodies were carried from the house to cries and shouts. As he tried to push his way closer to the front of the crowd Dumbledore passed Rubeus Hagrid, who was sobbing loudly as he watched the Potters lifeless bodies being taken away.

The sight made Dumbledore himself feel sick and full of sorrow for the two young adults, he remembered their days at Hogwarts, days when they had been so innocent and full of life. Finally, Dumbledore reached the front of the crowd and looked up at the ruined house, another feeling of sickness swept through him. His eyes went to the man being dragged down the street by Aurors, Peter Pettigrew. He was conscious and wailing his sorrows, but no one seemed to be paying him any attention.

"NO!" The yell alerted him to the person he was looking for, Sirius Black. The man who was usually so well groomed and presentable looked unrecognisable. His dark, shoulder length hair was messy and his face was pale and wet with tears as he knelt in the garden of the house, his eyes glued to the bodies of his two friends, "No," He said again. Dumbledore took a step towards him just as another man hurtled past him into Sirius's arms.

"Sirius! Is it true? It can't be true, oh god, no, no, no," The equally dishevelled man was Remus Lupin; he was pale too and looked like he had spent many sleepless nights worrying about something like this happening. The two friends stayed like that for a moment, silent and crying in each other's arms.

Dumbledore made his way over to a ministry worker who was at the door of the Potter house, "Is there a boy in there?" He asked quietly so that Sirius and Remus would not hear. The redheaded ministry worker shook his head, "No Albus, just an empty cot, we have no idea where the baby is."

"Is there any evidence that someone else has been here since they were killed?" Dumbledore asked, again in a lowered voice as he glanced over at the two distraught marauders.

The worker, an unspeakable who Dumbledore was well acquainted with replied, "Someone else has definitely been here, the scene was disturbed. Whoever it was sat for some amount of time, we don't know what they were doing but they disturbed the cot and took the baby. We don't know if he was alive or dead when they did so."

That sentence told Dumbledore all he needed to know, "No, if Voldemort had killed him he would want us to know about it. He would have left him there for us to find, someone came and took Harry. They did so to keep him safe, wherever he is, he is in safe hands."

"What do you mean not there!"

Dumbledore walked the short distance to Sirius who was now shouting at another ministry worker.

"How can he have just vanished? Where the hell is my Godson?" Sirius shouted as Remus grabbed him and muttered in his ear, "Sirius, calm down, shouting isn't going to help us find Harry."

"Remus is right Sirius; you must remain calm," Dumbledore said as he approached the two horror-stricken men.

"What do you know sir?" Remus asked Dumbledore.

The older man shook his head, "Not here. Your flat is nearby, Sirius?"

Remus nodded, taking Sirius by the arm and leading him through the crowd while Dumbledore followed. Both of them were so numb in the wake of the death of their best friends. They were stopped by ministry workers and reporters to give statements, all 3 of them, and by the time they reached a safe point to apparate it was just past midnight.

Remus gave Dumbledore the coordinates to Sirius's flat and they departed. Remus gripped Sirius tightly and apparated them both to the flat where Dumbledore was already waiting.

"Remus, we shouldn't have left, we need to be there for Harry," Sirius said. Remus was surprised to see tears in Sirius's eyes as he glanced at his best friend.

"Sirius, Harry isn't there, if we are going to do any good we need to be out in the world looking for him," Remus said in the strongest voice that he could muster, because in reality he didn't feel strong at all. It was odd that he had to be strong for Sirius in this case, usually Sirius was strong for him.

Sirius seemed to be lost, "James and Lily are gone…we'll never speak to them again, they're gone."

"I know," Remus replied quietly as his voice caught in his throat, they both let tears run freely down their faces.

Dumbledore cleared his throat and addressed them, "Wherever Harry is, he is in safe hands. If Voldemort had killed him he would have left his body at the scene to send out a message. Something strange happened tonight, reports are coming in from all over that Voldemort's followers are disbanding and running into hiding. Whatever happened at Godric's hollow, it weakened Voldemort, some are already whispering that it may have killed him."

"But what does Harry have to do with that?" Sirius asked, still panicking.

"Harry is the sole survivor, all signs show that the killing curse was used on him and he survived it," Dumbledore replied, "I had heard of a prophecy, one that may well have been about Harry."

"What prophecy?" Remus asked sharply.

"It spoke of a boy born at the end of July, a boy whose parents had thrice defied Lord Voldemort. It said that he would be the one to vanquish Voldemort."

"You knew about this and you didn't protect James and Lily!"

"I urged them to change their secret keeper," Dumbledore said calmly, "I urged them to make me their secret keeper because I knew that you would be the obvious choice to Voldemort, Sirius. I did not know that the person they would choose would betray them to Voldemort."

"You should have done more to protect them!" Sirius spat.

"Sirius!" Remus cut in, "Right now that is not important! Finding Harry is, you say you know he is in safe hands Dumbledore but do you know where?"

"Alas, no," Dumbledore replied, "I believe someone, likely a tyrant Death Eater trying to stop Voldemort from murdering the Potters, removed Harry from the scene. I suspect this was done to keep Harry safe, he will return him to his rightful custody before noon, I am sure."

"And if he doesn't?" Sirius asked, "What do you want us to do? Just wait around?"

"That is exactly what I need you both to do," Dumbledore replied, "It is well known that you are Harry's Godfather. Whoever has taken him will likely return him immediately to you so that they can bypass going through the Ministry and being apprehended. You must remain at the flat so that you are here when they return Harry. I shall search throughout the night and inform you if I have any more progress."

Sirius looked set to roar at Dumbledore again but Remus gripped his arms tightly and looked him in the eye, "Listen to me Sirius. Dumbledore is right, this is the best place to wait out the night and see if someone brings Harry back."

Sirius was still angry but he knew that Remus spoke reason. He yanked his arms out of Remus's grasp and said, "Fine! But you had better inform us if you find out _anything_ Dumbledore!"

"I assure you that I will," Dumbledore said, bowing his head and leaving the flat.

Sirius and Remus spent that night pacing and shedding tears. Sirius stomped around the flat turning every photograph downwards so he didn't have to look at Peter smiling in pictures next to the people he had betrayed. People whose deaths he had caused. The night dragged on until dawn broke through the haze of darkness, with it bringing the first day without James and Lily.

Neither Sirius or Remus felt tired. They both felt angry and devastated, their eyes burned from the tears that had been shed through the night but they could not sleep. Their eyes flickered far too often towards the door and the fireplace, although no sounds apart from the usual creaking of the house and singing of the birds penetrated the walls.

However, just after 6am the fire roared to life so violently that Sirius and Remus both jumped. The flames turned green and a voice said, "Unfamiliar Magical Signature."

"It must be someone with Harry," Sirius said, opening his mouth to allow the person access.

"What if it's a trap?" Remus jumped in.

"We can't risk it!" Sirius shouted, "Accept!"

Remus pulled his wand out and concentrated it on the fireplace as a figure emerged, clutching a baby tightly to his chest. His wand almost slipped from his hand when he recognised said figure.

All of the remaining colour drained from Sirius's face as he said weakly, "Regulus?"

Regulus smiled nervously, "Hello brother," he said as Narcissa stepped out of the fireplace behind him.

Sirius looked like he was going to cry or explode with anger. But before he could do either Harry recognised his Godfather and shouted, "SIRI! SIRI!"

Sirius took Harry from Regulus's arms, "Harry! You're okay!" He said, breathing a sigh of relief as Harry grabbed his hair and tried to eat it.

Remus appeared at Sirius's shoulder and again the little boy recognised him and tried to grab at him with his pudgy little hands, "REMY!" Harry shouted.

Remus chuckled, "Hello Harry, I'm glad you're okay," He said as he let Harry grab his finger with his little hand.

"I will explain why I took him," Regulus said sheepishly, "If you allow me to do so."

Sirius put Harry down and allowed him to toddle about, Regulus hadn't been aware that the baby could walk.

With Harry on the ground Sirius looked up at his brother with a fire burning in his eyes, "What explanation can you possibly give me to make this okay? You kidnapped my Godson! You -a Death Eater! You-"

"Sirius," Remus tried to cut in.

Sirius ignored him, "You took him out of that house and hid him away from me! What were you doing? Torturing him?"

"Sirius," Remus said more firmly.

"Plotting to kill him, hmm?" Sirius continued, "For your master? You were, weren't you!"

"Sirius!" Remus said, raising his voice this time.

Sirius turned away from Regulus to look at Remus. The mousy haired man looked pointedly in Regulus's direction. Sirius turned back to his brother and frowned, "Wait…you're dead! Voldemort killed you when you tried to run away."

Narcissa sighed and mumbled, "Gryffindors, always jumping to conclusions."

"I'm not dead," Regulus assured Sirius.

"But you're still a Death Eater, you both are!" Sirius exclaimed.

"No, I'm not," Regulus said, pulling up his sleeve and showing his bare arm.

"Nor am I," Narcissa said, lazily showing them her arm, "My Husband may be a Death Eater, that does not make me one by association. He is a terrible man, as I am sure you are both aware."

"But you joined the Death Eaters Regulus," Sirius said, frowning at his brother's bare arm, "I know you did."

"I did," Regulus admitted, "But I died over 2 years ago trying to bring Voldemort down. When Narcissa resuscitated me, the dark mark had disappeared. I tried to help people, I forced Marlene and Matthew McKinnon into hiding when I heard wind of an attack on their family home. Unfortunately, I couldn't save the entire family."

"You saved the McKinnons?" Remus asked quietly.

Regulus bowed his head, "And I tried to save the Potters. I followed the Death Eater, Pettigrew for a few days. My trace informed me he was in Godric's Hollow but by the time I got there the house was already a ruin. I took the boy away because I was unsure if Voldemort was gone, I wanted to keep him safe until the danger had passed."

"Why? Why does Harry's safety concern you?" Sirius asked, narrowing his eyes at his brother.

"Because I am trying to make amends Sirius. I am trying to overcome my past, I know Harry is your Godson and I wanted to protect him, for you," Regulus said softly.

"It's people like you I protect him from!" Sirius snapped, "People like both of you!"

Narcissa sighed as hurt flashed through Regulus's eyes. She placed her hand on his shoulder and said, "Sirius, I know you are the perfect example of a Gryffindor. You jump to conclusions and let your temper rule your life. Remus on the other hand, he is your voice of reason and I think he understands quite perfectly what is going on here."

Sirius looked at Remus in confusion. He sighed quietly, "Regulus wanted to save James because he knew he is – was – your best friend. Narcissa is clearly looking out for Regulus because they have something in common. Both of them were dragged into Voldemort's circle and both of them were desperate to get out."

Narcissa bowed her head, "Precisely. As soon as I can begin divorce proceedings, I shall. I have a son, the same age as little Harry here, I want to protect him from his Fathers rage and influence."

"I understand," Remus promised.

Sirius frowned, "How did you know that Remus was the voice of reason?"

Narcissa raised an eyebrow, "Every relationship has a hothead and a voice of reason."

Sirius coughed loudly, "Relationship? Me and Remus, in a relationship?"

Regulus rolled his eyes, "Don't try and hide it Sirius. We know, I've known since you two were in 6th year at Hogwarts."

"You were never exactly subtle about it," Narcissa added, "Anyone who spends 5 minutes around you can tell."

"And broom cupboards aren't soundproof you know," Regulus said as he made a face, "I was a prefect during your 7th year. I heard more than I _ever_ wanted to hear."

"Oh Merlin," Remus muttered, his cheeks flushing bright red.

Sirius had the grace to look sheepish. He cleared his throat, ran his hands through his hair and said, "Right."

"It is a good thing," Narcissa added, "Harry will need a family, two parents to raise him and love him. You can give him exactly what he needs."

"We'll never be his parents though," Sirius said, the melancholy air returning to the room.

"Better than him being an orphan," Regulus said softly.

Narcissa nodded and took Regulus's hand, "We must go. I need to help Regulus clear his name at the Ministry, there will still be a trial of course. Someone of solid moral character will need to speak for him to avoid him spending time in Azkaban."

Sirius started as he noticed Narcissa's eyes on him, "Me? You think _I'm_ of solid moral character?"

Remus nudged Sirius in the side and said, "He's your _brother_."

Regulus chanced a glance at his older brother. He saw conflict in his eyes, those eyes very briefly met Regulus's then Sirius nodded, "I'll speak for you Regulus but one good deed doesn't undo everything else you've done. Don't expect us to just go back to being brothers after all of these years, okay?"

"Okay," Regulus said, breathing a sigh of relief. Sirius had reacted far better than he had expected.

"Come, Regulus," Narcissa said gently, leading Regulus into the fireplace once more.

Sirius and Remus stood quietly for a moment, watching the green flames dance and return to their former colour.

"We have to go to Dumbledore and inform him that we have Harry," Remus said, ever the voice of reason.

Sirius nodded and picked Harry up, "Yeah, let's go," he agreed, his head spinning at a hundred miles an hour.

* * *

"We have Harry Sir."

Dumbledore looked up from his desk and smiled, "Excellent, I knew he was in safe hands. Was he returned to you by Severus Snape?"

Sirius frowned, "No, why would Snape have him?"

Dumbledore looked slightly confused too, "I assumed that Severus had taken him away for his own safety."

"No, Regulus did," Sirius said.

"Regulus?" Dumbledore said slowly.

"My brother," Sirius confirmed.

"Who we all thought was dead up until about half an hour ago," Remus added, "He told us that he tried to bring Voldemort down 2 years ago and died. He was resuscitated by Narcissa Malfoy and he went into hiding. He was following Death Eaters, one of them being Peter and that led him to Godric's Hollow."

"He took Harry and returned him to us this morning," Sirius finished, "And he's turning himself into the Ministry now."

"Sirius swore to speak at his trial," Remus added.

"And I shall too," Dumbledore said, looking down at his clasped hands, "But for now…we must discuss custody of Harry."

"I have the best claim, he's my Godson," Sirius said instantly.

"I wonder if he might be safer elsewhere," Dumbledore mused, "With his Aunt and Uncle perhaps."

"No!" Remus jumped in, "He wouldn't be safe with those horrible people! Lily hated them, she would never want Harry to be raised by them."

"She and James would want him with me," Sirius said firmly, "With me and Remus."

"You do not understand Sirius," Dumbledore said, "Harry is in grave danger. Voldemort has been weakened trying to kill him, when he returns he will want to finish what he started. If Harry is with his blood family, the blood wards will act as the strongest form of magic."

"Potter Manor then," Remus said, "If it is powerful blood wards that you're after then why not install Harry at Potter Manor? The blood wards are incredibly powerful, even more so for Harry because they contain the blood of his ancestors."

"Indeed," Dumbledore mused, "It would be quite safe…Harry will struggle growing up in this world though, I must inform you of that if you intend to raise him. He will be famous before he even knows his own name, do you not think he would do better being raised away from all of that?"

"No," Sirius said with a note of finality, "He would do better being raised by people who love him! How does a child learn to love if he doesn't experience it?"

Dumbledore looked defeated, "I understand. You must raise him in Potter Manor to protect him, that is my only condition."

Sirius and Remus both nodded. Remus then asked, "I have one more question for you Dumbledore, what does the scar mean?"

"It is a sign that he has been cursed," Dumbledore replied, "He survived the killing curse, but it left its mark on him. I am not sure what significance the scar has yet…but I know it has some."

"You will let us know if you find out anything more?" Remus asked, eyeing Dumbledore warily.

"Of course I will," Dumbledore replied, bowing his head.

* * *

"Regulus?"

Regulus jumped and spun around. He had not expected to see anyone walking towards his cell, "What do you want Lupin?"

"I wanted to talk to you before the trial," Remus admitted, standing at the bars and looking in at Regulus.

He had been stuck in this cell for hours, ever since he had turned himself over to the Ministry. Narcissa had disappeared into an interrogation room to give information and memories about her Husband's involvement with Voldemort. Regulus was sure it had been at least a day, but nobody had brought him any food or water.

Regulus's attention was caught. He looked up at Remus, "I'm listening."

Remus sighed, "I think I understand why you joined the Death Eaters, I suppose it started off as peer pressure and then it just got out of control?"

Regulus nodded and looked at the stone wall, "I did what my friends wanted and what my parents expected. I did exactly what my brother said I would, I became the same monster that my parents were. I couldn't see them as monsters until I became one myself, isn't that ironic?"

"I understand that," Remus admitted, "I understand how it feels to become a monster, more than you would think."

Regulus knew that Remus was a werewolf, his brother had never explicitly told him but it had been easy for him to work out when they were all at Hogwarts together. He nodded and said, "I know, but you never chose to be what you are. I may have been pressured into it but I still chose to be a Death Eater."

"And you chose to defy them," Remus said, "Which is what I wanted to talk to you about. I can understand why you joined them but not what made you want to leave."

"I wanted to leave from the moment I was inducted," Regulus frowned, "It wasn't what they made it out to be in school. This big group where everyone was included, where you could get yourself a good job because of the other member's influence. It was a group of sadistic murderers and the moment I saw that, I wanted out."

Remus nodded, listening intently, "When did you try and bring Voldemort down?"

"It was in September and I joined in July," Regulus replied, "Which tells you how long I lasted. I was already disenchanted but when he tried to kill my house elf, I lost my temper."

Remus smiled slightly, "A man who betrays the darkest wizard of all time to avenge his house elf can't be evil."

Regulus managed a small smile at that, "I'm trying to make my amends. I thought if I could kill Voldemort, everything would be okay. All I found was a locket filled with ancient dark magic, I think it might be a horcrux."

Remus's eyes widened, "You have it?"

"Hidden in Grimmauld Place," Regulus nodded, "But I won't tell the Ministry that. I don't want to hand something so dangerous over to people who are still in his corner. The Ministry is still filled with his spies."

Remus nodded, "Once you're free, we'll work it out."

"You're that optimistic?" Regulus asked.

"Your brother and Albus Dumbledore are speaking for you," Remus replied, "So yes, I am optimistic that you will get out of this one, frankly I think you deserve to."

"They took my memories last night," Regulus mused, "Of me defecting and saving the McKinnon's."

"They will know you aren't lying," Remus said, "Have a bit of faith Regulus."

Regulus laughed humourlessly, "I haven't had that in years."

"No, you never were the religious type," Sirius's voice said as he appeared behind Remus.

Regulus got to his feet and eyed the guards standing behind his brother, "Is it time?"

Sirius nodded, "It's time," he said, a dark look passing across his face.

The door of the cell was opened and Regulus was roughly pulled out by the two guards. Remus and Sirius fell into step behind him as the heavy iron doors to one of the courts opened with a loud creak.

Regulus swallowed hard. The room was filled with people, all glaring down at him. He was marched into a chair and chained into it the moment he had sat down. Sirius and Remus both took seats in a pew at the front of the courtroom where Albus Dumbledore was also perched.

"Regulus Arcturus Black!" A voice boomed, a voice that struck fear into Regulus's heart.

He looked up and recognised the man to be a senior Ministry official by the name of Bartemius Crouch, he had gone to school with his son…his Death Eater son.

"You are hereby charged with the following offence: Being a marked follower of He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named," Crouch said, "How do you plead?"

Regulus swallowed and said, "No longer guilty."

There was a loud gasp around the courtroom at his reply then it fell deadly silent. Crouch narrowed his eyes at him, "Once one is a marked follower, they do not become unmarked."

"I am," Regulus said, "Look at my left arm, it's bare."

Crouch nodded to a guard who was standing next to Regulus. He ripped the sleeve off of his shirt, revealing his bare left forearm.

"Cast a revealing charm," Crouch ordered.

The guard did so and then said, "No glamour charms at work sir."

Crouch narrowed his eyes, "Explain your plea."

Regulus swallowed once more, "I was a Death Eater and Lord Voldemort did mark me. I tried to defect and I died in the process, my cousin Narcissa Malfoy revived me and sent me into hiding in a safe house. After dying and being revived, the mark was gone and I was no longer bound to Lord Voldemort. In these last two years, I have done all that I can to help people, to make amends for what I did."

"A fine story, where is the proof?" Crouch asked coldly.

"I believe that is my job, Barty," Dumbledore said, rising to his feet, "I speak for the defendant, Regulus Arcturus Black."

"You are his lawyer?" Crouch asked in disbelief.

"Indeed," Dumbledore replied calmly, "And I think you will find that there is much proof to support Regulus's story. May I begin by asking the Memory Specialist, Amelia Bones, to present the evidence she has gathered from the memories Regulus provided this court?"

Crouch nodded and Amelia Bones stood up from her place by his side. She cleared her throat, "Having analysed the two memories supplied to me by Regulus Black, I can say with complete confidence that neither have been tampered with and that both are genuine memories belonging to the defendant."

"And those memories showed Regulus's defection and his quest to help those working for the light, did they not?" Dumbledore asked.

Amelia bowed her head, "Yes, they did. The first memory provided ample proof that Regulus Black defected against Lord Voldemort sometime in the region of September 1979. He risked his life in the process and certainly would have died if not for the aid of his house elf and his cousin, Narcissa Malfoy."

"And the second memory?" Dumbledore prompted.

"The second memory provided proof that Regulus did all he could to save the McKinnon family from the wrath of Lord Voldemort. Unfortunately, the only two members of the family to heed his word and go into hiding were Marlene and Matthew McKinnon. As a result, they survived the attack but cannot speak here today as they have not yet emerged from hiding."

"Thank you Amelia," Dumbledore said as the redheaded woman took her seat once more.

"This is all very well but becoming a Death Eater remains an offence punishable by life in Azkaban," Crouch said sternly, "A change of heart will not affect the sentencing."

"Why ever not?" Dumbledore asked, "Regulus joined the Death Eaters as a teenage boy who did not know any better. Why should he spend his life rotting in Azkaban when he has shown so clearly that he is capable of redemption? Furthermore, many of you will be aware that young Harry Potter was kidnapped from the scene of the crime after the apparent demise of Lord Voldemort."

"Apparent?" Crouch asked, "He is dead Dumbledore!"

"Perhaps," Dumbledore said calmly, "However, evidence has come to light that Harry Potter was in fact rescued by Regulus Black here, who later turned him over to his rightful guardian, Sirius Black."

Another gasp went around the room before Crouch hushed the jury and they fell silent.

"What proof do we have of this great claim of yours, Dumbledore?" Crouch asked sceptically.

"I believe the memory of Sirius Black would seem appropriate, do you not think Barty? If you would be so kind, Amelia," Dumbledore said, smiling at the redheaded woman.

Amelia stood and projected said memory onto the blank wall in front of the jury. It played out and they were all silent, but the moment the memory ended the whispering began.

"Silence!" Crouch demanded, "Do you have any further comments to make regarding this memory, Mr Black?"

Sirius stood and began, "As many of you will know, my brother and I have not seen eye to eye for many years. However, if Regulus was a true servant of Voldemort then he had every chance to dispose of the person who was responsible for his death. Harry might be a child but Voldemort died trying to kill him and any true follower would not hesitate in killing that person, even if he was a baby. Regulus didn't do that, he brought him home. I don't believe we should forget what my brother has done but I do believe that we should also remember the people who he has saved in these past two years and take this into account when weighing up his punishment."

"Thank you for your testimony Mr. Black. Does anyone have any further comments or questions before the jury removes itself to make a decision?"

Regulus swallowed the lump in his throat, "I would like to inform you that I submitted one final memory to Miss. Bones. It was of the last Death Eater meeting that I attended before my defection from Lord Voldemort. While I will not assume that everyone is guilty because that is not my job, it will show the jury everyone who has been marked by Lord Voldemort."

The loudest gasp yet went around the courtroom. Dumbledore gave Regulus a proud nod and Remus smiled his encouragement at the man. When Regulus met his brothers eye, he was surprised to see tears shining there. Sirius visibly swallowed a lump in his throat and nodded at his brother, it was the approval that Regulus had longed for after so many years.

"Understood Mr. Black," Crouch said sternly, "Miss Bones, would you please play this memory?"

The memory played out on and the courtroom fell into chaos. Three of the jurors were Death Eaters who tried to run from the scene the moment the memory was projected.

"Arrest Yaxley, Runcorn and Rookwood!" Crouch roared.

The guards next to Regulus stunned and bound the three Death Eaters, leaving them lying motionless on the floor. The other jurors gasped and muttered things like, "Lucius Malfoy? But he is so respectable!"

The memory played out and the worst blow was dealt in the final second when Barty Crouch Junior limped into the room late, nursing a wound to the leg and holding the head of a muggle-born Auror who had been a known member of the Order of the Phoenix.

A gasp of horror went around the room as every single head turned to look at Bartemius Crouch Senior. His face was drained of colour but he still had the strength to shout, "Enough! We break for recess!"

He left the room before anyone could say anymore. The jurors all left too, leaving Regulus alone with Dumbledore, Remus and his brother.

"What do you think?" Remus asked, "About their verdict?"

"Before watching that memory, Barty Crouch would have tried to over-rule the verdict if the jury decided that you were not guilty Regulus," Dumbledore said calmly, "However after that, I doubt he has the power to do so."

"So you think I'll be okay?" Regulus asked.

"There will be punishment of some sort," Dumbledore assured him, "But I doubt that it will be a sentence in Azkaban."

Regulus nodded and breathed a sigh of relief. He caught Sirius's eye and said, "Thank you Sirius, for what you said about me then."

Sirius shrugged, "I didn't do it for you, I did it for James and Lily. It would be a poor repayment of me to let the man who saved their son go to Azkaban."

The hope in Regulus's eyes vanished as Sirius turned away from his brother and walked to the other side of the courtroom. Remus sighed and followed the man, he came to a stop behind him and rested his hand on Sirius's shoulder, "You did it for your brother, Sirius."

"Shut up Remus," Sirius said irritably.

Remus smiled knowingly at Sirius and patted him on the back, "I knew it," he said as they took seats and waited for the jury to return. It took at least an hour, but eventually they trudged back in and took their seats.

Crouch still looked very pale as he rose to his feet and said, "The Wizengamot has come to a decision over the fate of Regulus Arcturus Black. It has ruled that he is Not Guilty of the offence of being a marked follower of He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named."

Regulus breathed a sigh of relief and Remus squeezed Sirius's shoulder as some form of encouragement, as if he was assuring Sirius without any words that he had done the right thing.

"However, due to his involvement with He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named, he must still be punished," Crouch continued, "The Wizengamot order Mr. Black to pay a fine of 1,000 Galleons. After having done this, they also require him to relinquish control of the house of Black to his elder brother Sirius Orion Black."

Sirius rolled his eyes, the last thing he wanted was that damned house and that bloody estate.

"Finally, the Wizengamot sentence Mr. Black to a year of house arrest," Crouch said, "Under the permanent supervision of his elder brother, Mr. Sirius Orion Black."

Sirius's face fell, "What?"

Remus glared at him, "Sirius, not here," he muttered.

"Does Mr. Sirius Orion Black agree to the conditions?" Crouch asked loudly.

Remus shot Sirius a pointed look as the dark haired man rose to his feet, "What if Mr. Sirius Orion Black doesn't want the Black house and estate?"

Remus let his head fall into his hands with a dull thump.

"In that situation, rather than one year of house arrest your brother will be sentenced to 5 years in Azkaban prison. He will also be required to pass the Black estate to the next closest claimant, his cousin Narcissa Malfoy."

Sirius swallowed, he could feel Regulus's desperate gaze on him. It was those same watery blue eyes that had looked at him like that when one of them had done something wrong as a child. Those eyes had often made Sirius take the blame, and the beating, for his little brother.

Even now, after being estranged for so many years, they had an effect on Sirius. He nodded and said, "I accept the conditions. I will take my brothers claim to the house and estate of Black and I will supervise him for one year of house arrest."

Crouch hit the desk with a mallet, "Then the decision has been made. Wizengamot adjourned!"

 **TBC.**


	4. Part 1 - Chapter 4

A Moment in Time  


 **4**

"So what now?" Sirius asked as he, Remus and Regulus stood awkwardly on a London street.

"We go to Potter manor I suppose." Remus said, he was the man with the answers, as usual.

"All three of us," Sirius added, glaring at his brother.

Regulus remained silent but Remus said, "Four of us, once we get Harry back from Alice's grasp."

Sirius sighed, "No one has been to Potter manor since…Mr and Mrs. Potter died."

"Our flat is barely big enough for the two of us, let alone Harry and Regulus. Godric's Hollow certainly isn't an option and Potter Manor is technically Harry's now. What other option do we have?" Remus asked although the question was admittedly a bit rhetorical.

"What about Grimmauld place?" Sirius asked, clutching at straws admittedly.

"You can't raise a child in that place Sirius," Regulus said disapprovingly, "There are house elves heads on the wall and a portrait that screams obscenities at anyone who isn't of pure descent."

Sirius glared at his brother, "Not to mention our Mother, as head of the family can I kick her out?"

"Technically you can, but I wouldn't if I were you," Regulus replied, "She's very sick these days, otherwise I'm certain she would have been at that trial, screeching down at me for being weak."

"How long do you think it will take for the message that you've been disowned to get through?" Remus asked.

Regulus sighed, "I would be surprised if it was any longer than a few days."

"You can't get disowned, you idiot," Sirius interrupted, "Only the head of the family has the right to disown and I'm hardly going to do that after I just saved your ungrateful arse from Azkaban."

"I'm very grateful Sirius," Regulus said firmly, "I'm sorry if I'm not showing it enough."

"Hush, both of you," Remus said, clutching his forehead as he felt a migraine coming on, "We need to think about this logically, because of it's powerful blood wards Potter Manor is the safest place for Harry therefore it is where we have to bring him up."

"Fine," Sirius sighed. Remus could tell he had his reasons for not wanting to go back to Potter Manor. The Manor had been where he had spent every summer with James, it held so many good times for Sirius, times that saddened him now because he knew he would never have that again, he'd never see James or speak to him again and that was difficult enough for him to process without having to move into the home that was filled with so many happy memories.

"I know it isn't easy Sirius, but it's for Harry," Remus said softly.

"Everything we do for the next 11 years is going to be for Harry," Sirius said, "We are both going to be living to make his life happy, feeding him, bathing him, teaching him, buying his Hogwarts supplies. We can't think about ourselves anymore Remus, not now that we're guardians to a baby."

"Well Sirius, that was very deep," Remus said with a smile, "And very true, from now on we focus on Harry."

"Miracles will never cease," Regulus said dryly.

"This is why I called you ungrateful," Sirius remarked.

"Ungrateful and sarcastic are not the same thing," Regulus argued.

"So!" Remus said loudly to prevent an argument, "Shall we go to Potter Manor and assess the damage control?" he asked, looking warily between the two brothers who were glaring at each other.

"We probably should," Sirius agreed, "Let's go and rescue Harry from Ali, then we'll see what we're dealing with."

* * *

Half an hour later, having successfully pulled Harry away from his best friend, Alice's young son Neville, the trio stood underneath the gates to the grand home that was Potter Manor.

Sirius stood between his brother and Remus, holding Harry close to his chest. The little boy looked up curiously at the house and Sirius softly said, "Come on Harry, time to go home."

They moved away from the golden gates emblazoned proudly with the name, "Potter". The gardens were remarkably well kept and extremely large, there were many trees and plants and flowers, the garden stretched out on both sides for as far as the eye could see even on a dreary, dull day like this one. The Manor itself was grand, the walls were whitewashed and remarkably clean. The large bay windows were framed in red, the Gryffindor colours. The path leading to the large red oak doors was concreted and each concrete block had a different image carved into it, mostly relating to Godric Gryffindor.

Sirius had gone very quiet and his face was extremely pale as they approached the doors. The group halted and waited, Regulus wondered what for, did they have a key or did the Manor recognise blood?

"Sirius, you'll have to do it. No one else can." Remus said.

Sirius nodded, swallowing visibly he put his hand on the door and it swung open.

"How can you do that?" Regulus frowned, "Surely only someone with Potter blood can open the door?"

"I do have Potter blood," Sirius said, looking into the house but not yet entering it.

"Sirius and James found some ancient magic and made themselves literal blood brothers," Remus said, sounding exasperated but also smiling sadly at the memory.

"Oh," Regulus frowned, feeling somewhat jealous and hurt by that.

Sirius didn't notice this, or if he did he simply ignored it. He handed Harry to Remus and walked into the entrance hall of the Manor. Remus and Regulus followed and the sight Regulus was greeted with astounded him. The floor was marble, as was the staircase leading to the upper floors, The room was very bare of furniture but not of trappings, there was a golden tapestry with the Gryffindor lion and many other paintings and tapestries decorating the walls.

A crack made the whole party jump, as did the click of the door shutting automatically behind them. A house elf had appeared, she looked remarkably like any other house elf, with distinctive large brown eyes.

"Master Sirius has returned! And little Master Harry!" The elf squeaked, "What can Velda do for Masters?"

Sirius smiled, albeit a little sadly at the elf. He hadn't seen her since the last summer he had spent here, the summer between his 6th and 7th year at Hogwarts, "James and Lily have sadly passed away Velda, myself, Remus and my brother Regulus are going to be living here with their son, Harry."

Velda's large eyes welled up, "Oh no, not Master James and Mistress Lily, I hoped it was not true. How can Velda look after so many people all alone, Velda is getting to be an old elf now!"

"Don't worry Velda you won't be alone. My elf Dobby will help out for a little while and I'm sure the Black family elf, Kreacher, will move in here too," Regulus said, putting the elf at ease.

"Velda will have new elves to talk to!" The elf squealed excitedly.

Regulus imagined that it had been lonely for the elf living in this big house alone with no one to serve. He felt for her, his 2 years in solitude with only a slightly wacky house elf for company had not been the best years of his life. Then again, they hadn't been the worst either.

"Kreacher is not coming here," Sirius argued.

Regulus sighed, "Kreacher is just misunderstood Sirius, you have never got him. Being around other elves will help him."

"I'm in charge of you-"

"No, I'm just under house arrest-"

"No! I'm in charge of House Black so that means I get to make the decisions and I decide that Kreacher absolutely does not come here," Sirius said firmly.

"Sirius, he saved my life," Regulus said, his gaze burning into his brothers.

"What?" Sirius frowned, "You said that Narcissa saved your life, make your bloody mind up!"

"Physically she saved me," Regulus admitted, "But Kreacher left the cave and brought her back there to save me. I know you two have never exactly gotten on, but Kreacher has always been kind to me."

"Because you were kind to him," Remus said knowingly, "And Sirius was not. House elves only give back what you give them, after all."

Sirius glared at him, "Are you already starting to agree with my brother over me?"

"In this case, your brother is right," Remus said, "Let Kreacher come here and help Velda out. I am sure you two will sort out your differences."

"Fine," Sirius sighed, feeling like he was agreeing to a lot of things he might not have done otherwise but this was an exceptional situation. No one had expected Lily and James to die, no one had expected to be left in a complicated mess like this, "But Regulus is in charge of him."

"Deal," Regulus said, smiling slightly at his older brother.

"Summon him then Sirius," Remus said with an amused look at the man who had raised his hand to summon his elf but seemed to be having issues with clicking his fingers.

"Do I really have to?" Sirius whined.

"Just do it, Sirius," Remus ordered.

"Whatever," Sirius mumbled clicking his fingers and waiting for the elf to appear as he did a few minutes later. This elf looked different from Velda, he was slightly older and a lot dirtier, his ears were longer and drooped down instead of perked up, he had bags under his eyes which were a dark brown, almost black colour.

"Master Sirius," Kreacher said, bowing reluctantly and looking bitterly at the man.

"Kreacher," Sirius said, glaring at the elf, "This is to be your new home, there are other elves here, I want you to work together with them. Do you understand?"

"Yes Master Sirius," The elf said, clearly not happy with Sirius.

"And from now on you take orders from Master Regulus, alright?" Sirius asked.

The elf's eyes lit up and he turned to bow lowly to Regulus, "Yes Maser Sirius, of course. Kreacher is happy to serve Master Regulus once more, even if Mistress Walburga says she hates Master Regulus and wishes he really had died so many years ago."

"Charming women, our Mother," Sirius remarked sarcastically.

"Quite," Regulus sighed, "Go to the kitchen Kreacher, get some rest."

"Yes Master Regulus," Kreacher said, disappearing with a crack to the kitchen.

"I apologise Velda, Kreacher is different to most elves, his last Master was a very wicked man," Sirius said to the shocked looking elf.

"Velda understands Master Sirius, Velda will be easy on Kreacher," Velda bowed individually to all 3 men and then once more to Harry and then vanished to the kitchens.

"Assuming Narcissa lets me keep Dobby for the moment, I'll send him down to meet the others when he arrives," Regulus mused, looking around the grand entrance hall.

"Well, since we're all here," Remus sighed, "I suppose we should sort out rooms."

"I'll take my old room," Sirius said in a small voice, his room was next door to James's and he had a feeling it was exactly how he had left it which made him feel both happy that the legacy was there but sad that there were so many memories in the house. It went without question that Remus would share Sirius's room, no more had to be said on the subject.

"Do you think we should give Harry James's room? It won't do us any good to leave it preserved like he's going to come back." Remus said, looking at Sirius as he tried not to cry.

Regulus felt like an intruder to their memories, this Manor held memories for the others that he had not experienced.

"We should," Sirius agreed, "But not now, for now Harry can sleep in James's old nursery. It's across from my room anyway."

Remus nodded, "Yes, probably a good idea, we can keep a close watch on him that way. Regulus you have a choice of one of the 1st floor guest rooms or you can sleep in the 2nd floor guest room nearer to us and Harry."

"I'll take the second option," Regulus replied, "If I'm under house arrest, I should probably be on a floor where I can't easily sneak out of a window, just in case."

"You better bloody well not," Sirius said, "Because I'll be the one getting fined if you do!"

"Calm down Sirius, I was joking," Regulus said.

"Well don't," Sirius remarked, "This is not an appropriate time!"

"Sorry!" Regulus snapped, "But you used to have a sense of humour."

"Before my best friend died and I suddenly got landed with a baby and a house and an idiot brother who I'm stuck with because he's under house arrest!" Sirius rattled off, breathing very heavily.

"Sirius," Remus said gently, looking him in the eye, "Go to bed, leave Regulus and I to get Harry settled. You haven't slept since James and Lily died two nights ago."

"Okay," Sirius sighed, glancing at Harry, "You're sure you'll be okay?"

"We'll be fine," Remus promised, "Get some sleep, we'll wake you up if we need you."

Sirius nodded and kissed Harry on the forehead, "Okay, thanks Remus."

Remus just smiled at Sirius as he ascended the stairs and disappeared from view.

* * *

"Do you think he'll ever forgive me?"

Remus had been expecting the question all evening. He and Regulus had wrestled Harry into his high chair and managed to get him to eat some of his dinner. He had thrown most of it all over them, himself and the floor but a few mouthfuls had gone into his mouth. After that they got him ready for bed and popped him down in the makeshift nursery they had created across the hall from Sirius and Remus's room.

With the toddler fast asleep, Remus and Regulus had descended to the kitchen for their own dinner. Neither of them were very hungry though and they had spent more time pushing food around than actually eating it.

"I think he will one day," Remus replied, looking over at the younger man, "But you know Sirius, it will take him time."

"Do you think me having to live here is going to make it worse?"

Remus shook his head, "No, I think it will make things better. You two need to work out your differences and you both want to, even if Sirius won't admit that. He loves you Regulus, he was devastated when he found out that you had died. I know you two didn't talk after he left home but he always worried about you, especially when you started hanging out with that bad lot in school."

Regulus hummed thoughtfully, "I wanted to make amends but I never seemed to be alone. I was always flanked by someone and Sirius never went anywhere without you, James or…Peter."

Remus nodded, visibly swallowing at the mention of his name, "He deserves every second of that life sentence in Azkaban. I always knew he was a cowardly creature but I never thought he would betray his best friends."

"I never thought I would betray all of the Death Eaters," Regulus shrugged, "But I guess it shows that not all Gryffindors are brave."

"And not all Slytherins are cowards," Remus said, smiling slightly at the man, "So much bad has come of this war Regulus. You and Sirius both know that which is why I know you will reconcile, eventually."

"Sirius just needs to cool down first," Regulus agreed, "And you will know as well as I do, that could take years."

Remus laughed and nodded his agreement, "That's very true, but perhaps being a parental figure will soften him."

Regulus snorted at the thought and Remus smiled down into his food. Somehow, he thought that they were all going to be alright.

* * *

It took some time to get used to raising a child, and not only raising a child but raising a child in a house with two other men. Yet it had been one week since the fateful night when James and Lily had tragically lost their lives.

Having a child hadn't proved as difficult as everybody said. It had taken a long night of arguing that included much throwing of pillows at each other and several million cups of tea, but eventually the three men had managed to agree on a plan for Harry. Regulus wondered quite how he had gotten dragged into the whole thing, according to Sirius if he was going to be stuck in the house with them for the next year he might as well make himself bloody useful.

As a result, they took turns entertaining Harry so that the others got days off from the responsibilities, it worked remarkably well with the largest issue being that Sirius and Remus fought every night over who got to read Harry his bedtime story. Regulus was having much more fun than he liked to admit on his allocated 'Harry-sitting' days, he had taught the boy to say his name although he was now known as 'Reggy'.

When it came to bath time, which they had agreed ought to be two nights a week, the trio fought over who had to do it because bathing Harry Potter was not a desired task. The little boy had an aversion to water. Sirius joked that he was like a cat, he would go crazy whenever they tried to put him in the bath, he would splash and scream and try and claw at the person bathing him. This Saturday had started out as a sad day with it being one week since the Potters had passed away but when it came to bath time for Harry it lightened up everyone's day a little, well almost everyone's day.

"No way! I'm not doing it; you made me do it last time!" Sirius said in annoyance to Regulus as he suggested that he be the one to bathe Harry.

"You drew the short straw," Remus said with a smirk.

Sirius glared at him, "Whose side are you on here Remus?"

"I'm Belgium," Remus said as he turned the page of the book he was reading.

"What are you talking about? What the heck is a Belgium?" Sirius asked, throwing one of Harry's cuddly toys at Remus.

"It's a country, you idiot," Remus retorted, throwing the toy back but missing Sirius and hitting Harry instead who was in his playpen behind him.

Harry frowned for a moment wondering where the flying toy had come from. Then he picked it up, started to chew on it and was content, "Oops," Remus said from his armchair.

"Why the hell are you being a country?" Sirius asked irritably.

"I meant I was remaining neutral in the argument. Belgium was famous for being neutral in World War 2," Remus replied, without removing his nose from its book.

"What do I care about a Muggle War?" Sirius asked in annoyance, he'd been in a bad mood all day.

"How did you get an A in Muggle studies?" Regulus asked in amusement.

"He slept with Professor Ralston for the A," Remus said calmly without looking up from his book.

"What? Remus! How the hell did you know about that?" Sirius asked, his voice a lot higher than he meant it to be when he had started the sentence.

Remus looked at Sirius in amusement, "Because there was no other way you could have passed and she totally wanted you," he said as if it was obvious, "Just like I know that you had a fling with Dorcas Meadowes in 6th year which you thought was a massive secret and also like I know that you accidentally snogged Narcissa in a broom closet in the dark then realised she was your cousin."

Regulus snorted, "Keeping up with tradition, brother."

"Oh shut up," Sirius remarked, "At least I didn't lose my virginity in a pity shag."

"No," Regulus agreed calmly, "You just lost it to a slut behind greenhouse 2."

"How did you know that?" Sirius exclaimed.

Regulus smirked and looked at Remus.

Sirius glared at the man, "Remus! Seriously, whose side are you on here?"

"I told you, I'm Belgium," Remus said again, "So Regulus, your turn to bathe Harry."

"Uh, no," Regulus said, "It's my day off, remember?"

"Well I am not doing it," Sirius said, crossing his arms like a child who wasn't getting his way.

"Someone needs to. He's dirty, we can't just leave him that way, he needs a bath whether he likes it or not." Remus said with a sigh as he put his book down on the table.

"Well, if you care so much about his cleanliness you can bathe him," Sirius said with a glare.

"It is your fault he's dirty Remus, you looked away when you were feeding him and let him put the bowl over his head," Regulus said as he too put his book down and stood up.

"Are you two ganging up on me?" Remus asked, looking from one to the other.

"Uh, yeah," Sirius realised with a frown. He found it hard to believe that he and his brother were actually working together for the first time in years, "Two against one, here's a grumpy Harry, have fun bathing him," he said with a grin as he handed Harry to Remus who groaned and dragged himself up the stairs to the bathroom.

As soon as Remus began to run the bath the water could be heard hissing up the pipes, Regulus looked at Sirius and said, "And in 3-2-1…"

Right on cue Harry began to scream and the brothers heard Remus swear loudly, Harry Potter had definitely been a cat in a past life.

"I'm glad we got a moment without Remus actually," Sirius admitted, sitting down in the armchair that Remus had just vacated.

"Why?" Regulus asked with a raised eyebrow from where he was leaning in the doorway.

"Well, there's something we should talk about without his interference," Sirius said, looking a bit awkward and nervous which was something Regulus knew was rare for the usually over-confident man.

Regulus frowned, "What's wrong?"

Sirius sighed deeply, he could feel a headache coming on, "Do you think we should take Harry with us tomorrow? To the funeral?"

"I thought you and Remus had already agreed that it wasn't a good idea?" Regulus said.

"Not quite," Sirius said, "I told Remus I was okay with it, but don't you think he has a right to go?"

"He isn't old enough to understand, there would be no point bringing him," Regulus said logically.

"Yes now he isn't, but what happens when he's older and he wants to know why we didn't let him go to his parent's funeral?" Sirius asked.

"When he's old enough to understand you can show him the memory in a pensive, going to the funeral isn't going to do him any good. From my perspective, it's also too much of a security risk, there are too many Death Eaters still at large who want him dead," Regulus said, again being the logical one whilst Sirius got worked up and angry.

"I thought you gave their names to the Auror department in your memory?" Sirius asked as he slumped further into the armchair.

"I did," Regulus said, "Lucius Malfoy was caught and is in holding, the latest news I got is that they had managed to capture Bellatrix and Rodolphus Lestrange. A lot have been rounded up but they all went into hiding when Voldemort disappeared. It will take a while to bring them all in, you ought to know that. Aren't you an Auror?"

"Yeah, I am," Sirius said, "When I actually work…that is."

"You have sympathetic leave, don't feel guilty about not being there," Regulus said. Secretly he was quite glad that they were having this civil conversation.

Sirius nodded and looked down, "I'm sorry you know Regulus…for the way I was in school. After I left the house I just completely ignored you. I guess the difference between a Gryffindor and a Slytherin seemed like the most important thing in the world back then."

Regulus shook his head, "I didn't exactly make it easy for you with the company I kept. I don't hold anything you did back then against you Sirius. But I can understand it if you hold what I did during the war against me."

"I do," Sirius admitted, "But I'm trying to let it go Regulus, I swear."

Regulus nodded, a smile making its way onto his face, "And I appreciate that but I need to go, I have a floo call with Narcissa."

"Why are you flooing her?" Sirius asked curiously.

"We need someone to babysit Harry tomorrow don't we?" Regulus said as if this was obvious.

Sirius's eyes widened, "She's babysitting Harry?"

"Yes, well she said it shouldn't be an issue, the call is to confirm it. She has a son about Harry's age," Regulus said, glancing into the dining room to see if the floo was activated yet.

"Does she?" Sirius asked in surprise.

"He's called Draco, he was born at the start of June so he and Harry are about 2 months apart in age. I thought it might do Harry some good to have a friend his age," Regulus said.

Sirius nodded his agreement, "He's friends with Frank and Alice's son Neville, he was born the day before Harry...Lily and Alice were in St. Mungo's at the same time."

"Frank and Alice...the Ravenclaw and Hufflepuff?" Regulus asked with another glance at the fireplace.

"Yeah, they were in my year at school," Sirius said casually, "Actually, they'll be at the funeral tomorrow, I wonder who will watch Neville."

"Do you want me to ask Narcissa if she minds having one more?" Regulus asked.

"That would be nice," Sirius said, "I'll floo Frank when you're done and check if they need someone to watch him."

At that point the fire in the dining room came to life and Regulus hurried over to it, "Narcissa, good to see you," he said with a smile as her face appeared in the fire.

"You too Regulus," Narcissa said with a smile, "Tomorrow is not an issue; I think Draco will enjoy having a little boy his own age to play with."

"That's great; I wondered if you would mind the possibility of looking after another little boy for a few hours? Harry's friend Neville, his parents will be at the funeral too," Regulus said in his politest voice.

"That is fine Regulus. I would have loved to have more children, but of course that will not happen now," Narcissa said, the look in her eyes wasn't sadness however.

"How are you fairing in that big manor all by yourself?" Regulus asked, and from where Sirius was eavesdropping he could see that Regulus genuinely looked concern.

"Oh I'm okay. I have got Draco to keep me busy, if I am honest with you Regulus I am thankful that your memory helped convict Lucius. The last thing I wanted was him bringing my son up, he was so dangerous," Narcissa confessed.

"I know he hit you Narcissa, you deserve better than that," Regulus told his cousin.

Narcissa smiled, "I know, you are very sweet Regulus. I can see why you could never have lasted the war as a Death Eater."

Regulus smiled, "I'll take that as a compliment."

Narcissa laughed, "You ought to. What time are you bringing Harry around tomorrow?"

"We'll drop him off at around 9am if that's okay with you." Regulus said.

Narcissa nodded, "That's not a problem," she looked like she wanted to say more but then her head flicked around causing the flames to turn completely white with her platinum blonde hair, "DRACO! Stop pulling Dobby's ears!"

Regulus chuckled as Narcissa turned around and looked exasperated, "Draco doesn't seem to understand the concept of playing with Dobby. He keeps trying to ride him like he's a horse and he pulls his ears to make him go faster, Dobby loves it, he thinks its great fun."

"I can see what you mean about Draco keeping you busy," Regulus said with a smile.

Narcissa rolled her eyes, "He's a handful. I'd best be off Regulus, I'll see you tomorrow."

"See you tomorrow," Regulus said as the fire died out and Narcissa's face faded away.

Regulus stood up and stretched to full height before making his way back to the sitting room where Sirius joined him a moment later, making it look as if he'd come from the kitchen so Regulus didn't realise he had been eavesdropping.

"Have you finished your call?" Sirius asked innocently.

"Yes, and you would know that because you were listening to the whole thing, as usual," Regulus said calmly.

"How do you always know?" Sirius asked irritably.

"You're predictable," Regulus said with an amused smile, "And clearly you're bursting to ask me something so go on."

Sirius rolled his eyes and sat down, "Are you having a thing with Narcissa?"

Regulus scoffed, "No, she's our cousin. I thought we had agreed we were going to try and stop that awful tradition with this generation?"

"You might have gone back on that," Sirius argued, "With her saving your life and all…"

"Merlin Sirius, stop fishing," Regulus snorted, "I see Narcissa as an older sister, there is nothing romantic between as at all."

"If you say so," Sirius said in a sing-song voice, "What did she say about Neville?"

Regulus ignored his brothers comment and replied, "She said one more child to watch shouldn't be an issue if you want to make a call to your friends."

Sirius thanked Regulus and made his way to the dining room, he threw some floo powder into the fire and knelt down on the hard concrete floor. He said the address of Frank and Alice's home in Godric's Hollow and was greeted with the voice of Frank, "Who is this?"

"Sirius Orion Black," Sirius replied, understanding the security measures, the Order didn't believe that Voldemort was dead, nor did Regulus and even Sirius knew that his guess on an issue like that was probably right.

"Prove it," Said the voice.

"Well who else would know that you went through an experimental phase in 5th year Frankie?" Sirius said with a chuckle.

Instantly the fire flamed up and Franks round shiny face appeared in the fireplace, "You're damn lucky my wife isn't around Sirius."

"You asked me to prove it," Sirius said with a grin.

Frank rolled his eyes, "Sorry to hear about James and Lily, we haven't had a chance to speak since it happened but I expect we'll see each other tomorrow."

"Yes, I expect we will," Sirius said a little sadly.

"How are you and Remus coping?" Frank asked, interpreting the look on Sirius's face.

"We're coping okay, having Harry is helping heal the wounds I think."

"Is it true your brother returned from the dead and is living with you guys?" Frank asked, craning his head to look around the empty dining room, "And where are you?"

"We're at Potter Manor, Remus thought it was the best place for Harry to grow up, he's probably right. And yeah, Regulus is staying with us because he's under house arrest for the next year following his trial."

"And you're his guardian," Frank realised.

"Yup," Sirius replied.

"I see," Frank said, "What did you want to talk about anyway?"

"Oh yeah, I wondered if you had a babysitter for Neville for tomorrow?" Sirius asked, he knew that both Alice's parents had died in the war and that all Frank had left was his Mother.

"No actually, my Mother is coming to the funeral too. We decided we'd just have to take him with us," Frank said, "Why do you ask?"

"Well you might object to the idea but Harry is being babysat by my cousin Narcissa, her husband has just been arrested for being a Death Eater but she didn't exactly have a great life with him. She's a good person and she offered to babysit Neville too." Sirius said, being careful about how he worded it.

"Oh, Narcissa, yes," Frank said, frowning a little, "I know exactly how tough she had it with Lucius," he admitted, "I was the one who arrested him, he put up a hell of a fight but as you know, I'm a great dueller. Alice had to do after-care because she requested a female had to be the one to do it," Frank looked around and lowered his voice, "You know what that means don't you?"

Sirius nodded sadly, "They only ask for a female when it's domestic or sexual abuse," he said, feeling sorrier for Narcissa than he ever had.

"Yeah, well her case was both," Frank said sadly, "She was forced into the marriage by her parents, it's a really nasty one. Alice has arranged two more after-care meetings and you know how rare that is, she seems to be coping well given everything though."

"Do you think she's okay to watch the boys tomorrow given all that's happened?" Sirius asked.

Frank nodded, "Oh yeah, she's perfectly fine and totally mentally intact. The way Alice put it is that she just needs someone to talk to about it all but she raised her son perfectly well with him around when it was going on so I wouldn't worry about that. I'll just go check with Alice that it's okay for Nev to go to Narcissa's tomorrow, give me a minute."

"Sure thing," Sirius said as he watched Frank disappear from the fireplace, he heard the man walk across the floor and run loudly up the stairs. Sirius waited a few minutes for him to come back into view.

"That's fine Sirius, Alice says she'll drop Neville off at Potter Manor at 7am, is that okay?" Frank asked when he reappeared.

"No problem Frank, we'll see you tomorrow," Sirius said with a smile.

"Will do. Hey Sirius, when you going to come back into work?" Frank asked, almost as if it was an afterthought.

"The boss gave me 2 weeks off in light of everything," Sirius said, "So I'll be back a week on Monday."

"You're missing all the fun," Frank joked, "So many Death Eaters, so little time."

Sirius laughed, "I'm sure you can handle it, I'll see you tomorrow Frank."

"Bye Sirius," Frank said with a smile as the green flames died out and turned to ash in the fireplace.

Sirius pulled himself to his feet and made his way to the living room where he was greeted with an amusing sight. As Sirius entered the room Remus appeared and placed the boy in his playpen. Harry was perfectly clean and dry; Remus on the other hand was not.

Regulus looked extremely amused and Sirius couldn't blame him, Remus's clothes were completely soaking.

"Who bathed who?" Regulus asked.

"You look like a wet dog Remus," Sirius said with a wink.

"Shut up Sirius," Remus hissed, "I am never bathing him again," he mumbled as he made to flop into the chair.

"Don't sit down, you're still wet," Regulus said with a roll of his eyes.

Showing his childlike Marauder side Remus rolled his eyes and muttered an insult about Regulus being far too OCD for his own good. He then performed a drying charm before flopping down into the chair and closing his eyes.

Sirius and Regulus shared an amused look before bursting into laughter and getting glared at by a very pissed off Remus.

 **TBC.**


	5. Part 1 - Chapter 5

A Moment in Time

 **5**

The morning of the 8th of November was an extremely depressing one. Between them Sirius, Remus and Regulus had agreed that getting Harry ready in the morning would be a joint effort. Sirius and Remus had spent most of the night sitting up talking quietly in their room

As a result, when Harry woke up in the morning it made sense for Regulus to dress him since the other two men had barely slept. Regulus was attending the funeral with Sirius and Remus, he had been unsure whether doing so was a good idea but he wanted to pay his respects.

Once Harry was dressed in relatively nice clothes since he was going to Narcissa's today, Regulus carried him downstairs and was in the middle of giving him his breakfast when Sirius and Remus emerged in the doorway with dark marks under their eyes.

"Tough night?" Regulus asked as he continued to feed Harry his cereal.

Remus nodded, rubbing his eyes, "Yeah, one of the worst," he admitted and that was saying something for him. That had been one thing that had been good about Regulus, he already knew about Remus's 'furry' problem as Sirius called it so Remus hadn't needed to explain that to him.

"And that's saying something," Sirius said as he fell lazily into one of the dining room chairs and clicked his fingers. Velda appeared and took the breakfast order of 3 strong coffees then disappeared again.

"When is it this month?" Regulus asked Remus as he fed Harry the last of his cereal and handed him a sippy cup of milk.

"Uhh...it's the 11th" Remus replied, frowning, "Wednesday."

"That is probably a contribution to why you're feeling so rough, and the funeral too of course," Regulus said as he sat down next to Remus at the table.

Remus nodded as Velda appeared with their coffees, "Yeah, it certainly isn't helping," he confessed.

"Master Regulus, Sirius and Remus," Velda spoke up shyly, catching all 3 men's attention, "Your clothes for today are washed and ironed on your beds."

"Thank you Velda," Sirius said with a smile as the elf bowed and disappeared.

"What time did Alice say she was dropping Neville off?" Remus asked Sirius as he sipped his coffee.

"7am," Sirius replied as he glanced at the clock on the wall, it read 6.30am.

"I suppose we should get dressed then," Remus said sadly, he didn't want to. He knew that after today he would have to really accept that it was real, that he wouldn't see Lily and James again. Until now he'd managed to put it off. Dumbledore had arranged the funeral, he and Sirius had helped a little but it was hard to when they were looking after Harry and still reeling from the loss of their friends.

"I'll take Harry," Sirius offered and the three men left their coffees practically untouched as they ascended the stairs to their rooms to get changed into their robes for the funeral. It didn't take long and when they all met up again in the dining room the only people who looked different were Sirius and Remus. Regulus's black formal robes were very similar to what he normally wore.

Sirius smiled weakly and attempted a joke, "Hey Regulus, at least everyone will look like you today. Look at us, people might think we're brothers!"

Regulus laughed, "You always teased me for wearing black all of the time."

"It is a bit boring," Sirius mused, "But maybe we'll get you in some colours now."

"Good luck trying," Regulus said dryly.

The group could contemplate no longer on Sirius's joke as the doorbell rang and Velda answered it, ushering Alice into the entrance hall. Taking a deep breath and composing himself Sirius walked into the room to greet her with a smile, "Alice, hey," he said brightly.

"Hi Sirius," Alice said with a sad smile, she and Lily had been close friends.

Sirius knew today would be hard on her, "How you holding up?"

Alice sighed, "I miss her. I could talk to her about everything, it feels so horrible knowing I'll never be able to talk to her again," she rubbed at her eyes, it was obvious that she had been crying, but grieving or not Alice was still very pretty. She had short curly brown hair, flawless pale skin and dark blue eyes. Frank had been extremely lucky to have a girl like Alice fall for him. She had been a Hufflepuff with the intelligence of a Ravenclaw and the bravery of a Gryffindor.

"I think today is going to be hard for all of us," Sirius said honestly and Alice nodded sadly.

At that moment Harry toddled out of the living room shouting for his favourite and Regulus hurried out after him, picking him up, tickling him.

"I never thought I would see Regulus Black playing happily with a child," Alice said quietly as she watched Regulus.

Sirius frowned, "I wasn't aware that you and my brother knew each other."

Alice nodded thoughtfully, "I wouldn't say we knew each other but I saw him in the library a lot at school. He always seemed lonely, sad and friendless."

"Yeah well he's got a bit of a family now, I suppose," Sirius mused.

Regulus smiled politely and said hello then returned to the living room with Harry. Alice and Sirius could speak in normal tones again, "Since when were you two brotherly?" Alice asked, amused at the fact Sirius was looking out for his Slytherin brother.

"We're getting there," Sirius assured Alice, "But I can't completely forget the fact he was a Death Eater. I know he has done a lot of good things since then and I'm working on forgiving him. Did you know he saved the McKinnon twins?"

Alice shook her head, "Marls said a masked man told them to go into hiding immediately. She and Matt did but her parents and their older brother didn't and they were killed by Voldemort the next day. I had no idea it was Regulus, I thought he was dead."

"We all did," Sirius said, "But he's alive and weirdly enough, he's really good with Harry. He's here because he's on house arrest."

"I know, Frankie told me," Alice said with a wave of her hand, "And as fascinating as this conversation is, I'm going to have to head Sirius."

Alice then handed Neville to him, he had been very quiet since Alice arrived, "He's a really good baby, he shouldn't be too much hassle."

"I'm sure Narcissa will be glad of that, I hear Draco's a handful," Sirius remarked.

Alice chuckled, "Yes, he's a funny little boy," she said, "I'll see you later."

"See you there Alice," Sirius said as he led the woman out of the house and shut the door behind her. Sirius then smiled down at the boy in his arms, "Hello Neville, ready to go and play with Harry?" He asked as he carried the boy into the living room and put him down next to Harry on the floor. Harry recognised the boy and started to squeal excitedly as he handed Neville one of his toys.

By the time Alice had left it was around 7.30am and Regulus didn't have to drop the boys off until 9am but Sirius and Remus needed to leave early to get the Church ready with Frank and Alice. They were the 4 named on the couples will as the closest thing to family that they had left.

"Come on Sirius," Remus said as he stood up, "It's time to go."

"I know," Sirius said from where he was leaning in the doorway watching Neville and Harry playing together. He walked over to Harry and kissed him on the cheek, "Goodbye Harry, you behave for Aunty Narcissa," He said quietly.

Remus smiled at the exchange and leaned down to kiss the baby, "Be a good boy Harry," he said as he straightened up and offered his arm to Sirius. He accepted Remus's arm and they said a quiet goodbye to Regulus then left the house and apparated to the little Church in Godric's hollow.

When the couple walked into the Church it was a sad sight already, the Church was bare and cold. It reminded them about what they were there for but it wasn't like they could forget; they had been dreading this day all week. Sirius sighed as he was summoned by the Vicar.

"Mr. Black, Mr. Lupin," The Vicar greeted them politely, "I am extremely sorry for your loss. I just have a few questions to ask you with regards to the service."

Remus put a brave face on and nodded, "Of course," he said as he reached behind his back and squeezed Sirius's hand, today was going to be one of the worst days of their life, being beaten only by that night. The night they had seen the cold dead bodies of their friends being taken out of their blown apart house.

* * *

Regulus sat and kept watch on Harry and Neville as they played together, it was nice to see Harry sharing his toys, he wasn't a spoiled child. Regulus tried to read and entertain himself to pass the time until he had to drop the kids off with Narcissa but by the time the clock chimed 8am he couldn't sit still any longer so he decided to go to Malfoy Manor a little early, he hoped Narcissa didn't mind but he couldn't sit alone without adult company for much longer.

After making the decision to leave early Regulus lifted both of the boys up, Neville in one arm and Harry in the other, both of them were holding onto the cuddly toys that they had been playing with. He walked out of the Manor and locked the door; he and Remus had been given the blood permission by Sirius to do so now. When he reached the gates of the Manor he made sure he had a tight grip on both boys and apparated to Malfoy Manor. The gates recognised him and he walked up the gravel path, through the neat gardens, complete with peacocks. The Manor was very similar to Potter Manor although possibly not quite as grand. When he reached the door he rang the bell and the door was answered by Dobby.

"Master Regulus!" Dobby said eagerly, "You is looking well Master."

Regulus smiled fondly at the elf, "Thank you Dobby, I feel quite well."

"Dobby is very pleased Master Regulus," Dobby said, leading Regulus into the house, "Mistress Malfoy is not expecting you just yet."

"I know Dobby, I'm a little early," Regulus said, hoping this wouldn't be an issue.

"Don't worry about it Regulus," Narcissa said as she appeared at the top of the black marble staircase, "I'm sure you have seen me worse," she said with a chuckle. She was not yet ready for guests, she was dressed but had no makeup on and had only just brushed her hair.

"Nonsense Narcissa," Regulus said, "You look lovely."

Narcissa smiled, "You flatter me," she said as she led him into the large living room which was furnished in green and silver.

Regulus chuckled and joked, "It's so very refreshing to see green again; darned Potter Manor is decorated in the most Gryffindor way you could imagine."

Narcissa chuckled, "Well, there will be a decoration change soon. This was all Lucius after all."

"The Manor is yours now I suppose?" Regulus asked as he sat down on the sofa and put the two boys onto the floor, he kept a close eye on them as they crawled over to where Draco was sitting on a baby rug with cuddly toys and little toy broomsticks whizzing around his head.

"Yes, in name anyway but I don't want it," Narcissa admitted, "I'm thinking about selling it but I will need to find somewhere else to go first. I have a claim to the Black House but that would involve living with Aunt Walburga."

Regulus made a face, "A fate worse than death."

Narcissa smiled, "Is that any way to speak of your Mother?"

"Oh haven't you heard cousin?" Regulus asked sarcastically, "I have been disowned as far as Mother is concerned. Of course she is not the head of the house so she cannot officially disown me, that falls to Sirius."

"I thought Sirius had been disowned?" Narcissa asked.

"He was, but my Father is dead and I had to relinquish my claim to the Black estate as part of my punishment," Regulus explained.

"I see," Narcissa said, glancing over to where the boys were trying to grab the toy broomsticks from the air, giggling as they attempted to do so. She then turned back to Regulus, "Well if we are speaking of family, my parents are dead and Lucius and Bellatrix are both in Azkaban. All I have left is Andromeda."

"Ah, the cousin disowned for marrying a muggle-born," Regulus remembered, "Can't you stay with her for a while? There is no one to apprehended you for it now that your parents are dead."

"It's more complicated than that. I haven't seen her since her daughter was born 8 years ago," Narcissa admitted, "I can hardly just waltz back into her life and ask if I can live with her."

"It's not an easy decision, you're right." Regulus said, he really felt for her, "But if Sirius and I can reconcile after all that has happened between us, I am sure you and Andromeda can do the same."

"Perhaps," Narcissa agreed, managing a small smile.

"The boys shouldn't be too much trouble," Regulus informed Narcissa, "Neville seems to be fairly quiet and although Harry is going through a bit of biting phase at the moment he tends to behave when he's not with one of us."

Narcissa smiled, "You will be a good Father Regulus."

Regulus scoffed, "I just help out to repay Sirius. I have landed him in a terrible situation and I want to do what I can to make that right," he said, looking over at Harry who had managed to grab one of the toy brooms and was hitting Draco over the head with it.

"Harry," Regulus called, getting the little boys attention. He turned on the most innocent gaze as he looked at Regulus.

"Stop hitting Draco," Regulus said in the strictest voice he could muster. Testing the waters Harry hit Draco over the head once more with the toy and Regulus said, "No."

This time Harry got the point and dropped the toy. It flew into the air again and Draco caught it, this time proceeding to hit Harry over the head and get his own back. The difference was that while Draco had silently watched Harry as he hit him with the toy, Harry burst into tears and called out, "Reggy! Reggy!"

"Draco!" Narcissa said in annoyance. She grabbed the little boy, "What have I told you about sharing your toys? No hitting!"

Upon being told off by his Mother Draco burst into tears and, apparently feeling left out, Neville looked between the two and began to cry too.

Regulus glanced at the clock on the wall, "Oh, would you look at the time; I'm going to have to head off. Have fun Cissa!" He called as he hurried out the door.

The last thing he heard over the crying was Narcissa cursing him.

* * *

When Regulus walked from the apparition point to the Church door the wind felt colder than it had for a while. It chilled him to the bone and he felt the hairs on the back of his neck stand on end. He could see his own breath in the frosty air. There were people all around, apparating in from the 4 designated points. Everyone was wearing black robes and a solemn look on their face; it couldn't have gotten any more depressing unless someone had dropped dead in the middle of it all.

When Regulus reached the Church door he found Sirius, Remus, Frank and Alice looking positively miserable. Sirius and Remus were standing on one side of the Church doors with Frank and Alice at the other side as they welcomed the guests.

"Hey," Regulus said quietly to the two men when he reached the door.

"Hey," Remus greeted back while Sirius stayed silent, "How are the boys?"

"They seemed to settle fine," Regulus lied, "I hope they sleep for Narcissa tonight, she looks like she's been struggling to get any sleep at all lately."

"Are you concerned for her?" Remus asked, glancing at Sirius who stood next to him like a statue.

"Yes," Regulus admitted, "I don't know the extent of the damage Lucius did to her, both physically and mentally."

The conversation ended at that point as another group of guests arrived and walked toward the Church, this was obviously the group that had come from Hogwarts as it consisted of Dumbledore, McGonagall, Sprout, Flitwick, Slughorn and Hagrid.

"How are you all doing?" Dumbledore asked in an undertone when he reached the trio.

"We're managing," Remus replied, "Harry is proving to be a very good little boy."

Dumbledore smiled, "I'm glad of it, where is he today?" He asked, glancing around.

"Narcissa kindly offered to watch both Harry and Neville," Regulus said to the Headmaster.

"That's fantastic, I'm glad Harry will grow up with some friends," Dumbledore said. He smiled again, almost sadly this time, "I'm sure the service will be lovely."

Sirius and Remus nodded, and the group proceeded into the church.

"Sirius, you can't stay silent all day. I know it's hard but you can't just shut everyone out," Remus said to the man next to him.

Sirius sighed, "I'm standing at the doors of a church about to send my best friend off. Do you expect me to fake politeness and happiness? I can't do what you do Remus," he was bitter and angry as he always got when he was sad or struggling to deal with something.

Sirius and Remus were both silent for a moment and Regulus chose that moment to take his leave, "I should go and find a seat."

He walked through the oak doors into the crowded little church and sat in the back. A few minutes later a blonde woman sat down next to him. Regulus looked sideways at her and realised with a jolt that this was not just any woman, it was Marlene McKinnon. She had curly blonde hair and piercing blue eyes that Regulus was scared to look into. He had always had a bit of a crush on Marlene when they were at school. She had been beautiful then too, and she had been on the Gryffindor Quidditch team. He had been the Seeker for Slytherin and he always messed up when he came across Marlene, the popular girl who was best friends with the school's resident geek, Lily.

She smiled sadly at him, "Friend of James or Lily?"

Regulus cleared his throat and replied, "More a friend of James's best friend."

Marlene frowned, "A friend of Sirius's?"

Regulus nodded, "I'm his brother, Regulus,"

"Oh," Marlene realised, "I remember you from school Regulus. You were a Slytherin weren't you? A year below us?"

"Two years," Regulus replied.

Marlene smiled slightly, "Well I'm Marlene McKinnon, I was friends with Lily at school."

"I know," Regulus said, "My brother spoke about you in the summer."

"Did he?" Marlene asked with a raised eyebrow, "I didn't think he ever really noticed me at school. I had a bit of a thing for him back then but I realised in 6th year that I was no match for his great love."

"Remus," Regulus said with an amused smile.

"Uh-huh," Marlene grinned.

Regulus smiled to himself as he turned to the front of the Church where the minister was getting ready and where the two coffins sat.

The room quietened as Sirius, Remus, Alice and Frank walked into the church, all that could be heard was the organ playing quietly in the background. The group took their seats at the front of the church. As they looked at the coffins Regulus saw Sirius well up, Remus noticed too and placed his hand over Sirius's.

"Ladies and Gentlemen, we are gathered here today to mourn the death and celebrate the lives of an extraordinary Witch and Wizard, Lily Evans Potter and James Potter. These two people were taken from us too soon, the last casualties of the greatest war our world has ever seen."

As the Vicar spoke Regulus glanced around the church, in the front row on the other side of the church a young woman sat alone, Regulus supposed that she was Lily's muggle sister, Petunia. She seemed stricken and it looked as if she was struggling to contain her tears.

"We will now hear from the people who knew Lily and James best, their friends and loved ones," The Vicar said as he moved back and Sirius and Remus stood up. Sirius looked pale as he and Remus walked to the front of the Church to speak.

"As you all know, Sirius and I, along with James called ourselves the Marauders in our days at Hogwarts," Remus said, starting off the speech, "All of the teachers in this room will vouch for the fact that we lived up to our name and were always causing mischief and playing pranks," There were some sad smiles around the room.

Sirius took over, "James and I met on the train to Hogwarts when we were 11 years old and from that day we were inseparable. Until that is, James met Lily."

Sirius had managed to talk without his voice shaking but Remus now took over again, "When James and Lily first met, James was head over heels for her and Lily couldn't stand him. Yet somehow, after 6 years of constantly asking James finally got the yes he wanted and the rest, as they say, is history."

Sirius now looked to be struggling, "Lily and James spent their lives dedicated to making the world a safer place for their little boy to grow up in and it seems sad that they had to sacrifice themselves for that to happen but if we have learned one lesson from their death, it is to keep your enemies close but your friends closer."

Sirius and Remus took their seats again and Sirius was visibly shaking; his face paler than Regulus had ever seen it.

Swallowing hard to contain his emotions and more to the point, his guilt, Regulus watched as Alice stood up.

"I met Lily when we were in 1st year at Hogwarts and she was the best friend that I ever had," Alice began, tears already spilling down her cheeks, "Lily was always there when I needed her. That was what made her a great friend, she gave everyone advice and she made everyone laugh. Myself and Marlene used to call her the Hogwarts agony aunt. The day she came to us asking for advice about James Potter was a miracle, we thought she would never see the light and admit to herself how in love with him she was. Lily was headstrong, if someone told her to do something she'd do exactly the opposite, she was stubborn and it was for that reason she and her James managed to do so much good in the world. Lily taught me how to love and how to live with no regrets, and for that I will always be thankful," Alice finished. She let all of her emotions come out then and virtually collapsed into her pew next to Frank. He wrapped a comforting arm around his wife.

It was then time to take the coffins to the graveyard to be lowered into the ground. Sirius, Remus, Frank and Dumbledore stood to carry James's coffin. They lifted it into the air and waited for Marlene, Alice, Petunia and McGonagall to lift Lily's coffin. The funeral was a mixture of Wizarding and Muggle traditions, at Wizarding funerals women were allowed to be pallbearers which they weren't at Muggle funerals. The two coffins were carried out into the graveyard and the guests stood up to follow. The short walk from the church to the plot where Lily and James would be buried next to each other seemed to last forever. When they reached the plot the coffins were charmed so that they levitated above the pits in the ground and everyone took their place around the plot.

The Vicar began to speak again, "Let us commend Lily and James to the mercy of God. We therefore commit their bodies to the ground, earth to earth, ashes to ashes, dust to dust, in the sure and certain hope of the resurrection to eternal life."

The coffins were then lowered slowly into the ground. Sirius and Remus had given up on faking happiness or politeness or any pretences. They were both crying and holding hands as they watched their friend's coffins being lowered into the ground. When the coffins finally reached the bottom of the pit Sirius and Remus walked forward first and using their wands sprinkled some dirt onto the coffin. Marlene and Alice then did the same for Lily and stepped back to look at the plot one last time. Dumbledore then stepped forward and with two quick charms the dirt was filled back into the graves and Lily and James were underground.

The guests all began to move away from the graves and in an unspoken agreement Regulus, Sirius and Remus made up the rear, they didn't speak at all as they walked through the graveyard, past the Church and to one of the 4 apparition points. The group then all apparated back to Potter Manor where the house elves had prepared a buffet and had cleaned the drawing room.

When they entered the room they split up, Sirius went straight to the open bar that they had set up and got himself the strongest firewhiskey available. Remus mumbled something about talking to the guests and mingling and Regulus (who struggled with social occasions after his 2 years of isolation) got himself a strong drink and found the most isolated seat in the darkest corner of the room.

"You look about as uncomfortable as I feel," A perky female voice said.

Regulus looked up with a start at Marlene, "I suppose that's what happens when you come back from the dead."

Marlene raised an eyebrow, "That's a story worth hearing, can I sit?"

Regulus nodded and watched Marlene sit down across from him, "You really came back from the dead huh? Am I talking to the world's first sentient inferi then?"

Regulus smiled at the joke, "No, my heart stopped and I was revived by my cousin. I spent the last 2 years in hiding which consisted of being cooped up in an abandoned manor house with a slightly insane house elf."

"Wow," Marlene said, "So you have a pretty good excuse for shrinking away from social occasions then."

Regulus nodded once more, "What's your excuse? You always seemed to be the life of the party at school."

"Can I let you in on a little secret?" Marlene asked in a mock whisper.

Regulus smiled, "I'm sure you will anyway."

Marlene leaned closer and Regulus could suddenly smell her sweet, flowery perfume. She whispered, "Do you know that the most confident people are normally those with the most insecurities?"

Regulus laughed, "What do _you_ have to be insecure about?"

Marlene quirked an eyebrow, "Why Regulus, you are a charmer."

Regulus's cheeks flushed, "I just mean that…well, you are beautiful, funny, witty and…clearly intelligent."

"Clearly intelligent," Marlene smiled, "What gives you that impression?"

"I can just tell," Regulus admitted.

"Hmm," Marlene said, fixing her blue eyes on him, "Well I had a lot of insecurities when I was at Hogwarts. The main one might surprise you because the thing is, people assume that girls only have insecurities if they're ugly or fat, right?"

Regulus frowned, "I suppose?"

"Well pretty girls can be insecure too," Marlene said matter of factly, "Do you know how much it sucks having guys ask you out, just to realise that the scumbags just want to sleep with you?"

"No," Regulus admitted, "But I imagine it's a pretty miserable feeling."

"It was," Marlene shrugged, "But those days are gone, school feels like a long time ago now. This war…it changed everything."

"Yeah," Regulus mused, "It really did…"

"You nearly died, I lost my entire family apart from Matty," Marlene said, glancing at her twin brother who was talking to Remus.

Regulus bit his lip and contemplated telling Marlene the truth about the masked stranger who had saved her life. He decided against it and shut his mouth firmly, but Marlene had noticed, "What were you going to say?"

"Nothing," Regulus said evasively, "I was just thinking."

"Oh no," Marlene said, shaking her head, "I know that look. That was a deep thought flashing through your head there. You can tell me you know; I am fantastic at keeping secrets."

Regulus smiled slightly, he wanted to tell her. He really wanted to tell her, he just wasn't quite sure how to do so, "I don't know you that well…I'm not sure if I should tell you."

"Well that's easily fixed," Marlene said with a grin, "I'll be back in a minute."

Regulus watched her walk to the bar, order a couple of drinks and return to his darkened table. She handed him a glass of firewhiskey and said, "Hey, I'm Marlene McKinnon. I was a Gryffindor at Hogwarts, hatstall though because I nearly got sent to Ravenclaw. My favourite class was Transfiguration and I sucked at Potions."

Regulus's smile widened as Marlene continued, "I _did_ work as an Unspeakable in the Department of Mysteries before some mysterious stranger warned me that I was going to get attacked by Voldemort. Then I spent a year in hiding with my brother because Voldemort massacred my entire family. What else is there to know? Oh my favourite colour is yellow and I have a pet cat called Gizmo. Know me well enough yet?"

Regulus's smile was fixed on his face, "I was the masked stranger who warned your family of the attack."

Marlene watched him silently for a moment before saying, "You were?"

Regulus nodded, "I was."

"You saved my life," Marlene realised, not removing her gaze from his.

"I did," Regulus agreed, "But I was only able to do so because I used to be a Death Eater. I signed up when I left school and defected a few months later. I got myself killed while foolishly trying to bring Voldemort down and as I have told you, my cousin revived me. I spent the next two years following Death Eaters with the aid of my house elf, and warning those that I could."

Marlene watched him intensely throughout his story, "How very brave of you."

"Did you miss the part about me being a Death Eater?" Regulus asked, a frown forming on his face.

"You _used_ to be a Death Eater," Marlene corrected, "I used to have bright pink hair but hey, we don't judge people on their past mistakes."

Regulus managed a surprise snort of amusement, "If I heard that correctly, you just compared being a Death Eater to having pink hair."

"Hmm," Marlene hummed, "I suppose I did."

"You are quite extraordinary," Regulus smiled.

Marlene smiled back, "Why thank you. I have one small problem with the way this conversation has gone though."

"And what is that?" Regulus asked.

"You now know a lot about me," Marlene pointed out, "But I know hardly anything about you other than the fact you are Sirius's far more handsome and approachable brother who used to be a Death Eater."

"True," Regulus said, watching her carefully, "Are you suggesting we ought to remedy that?"

"Why yes," Marlene said, "Yes, I am."

Regulus smiled at the woman as her brother began to walk towards them, "Then I'll owl you a date and we will go out for dinner sometime."

"Splendid," Marlene grinned.

"Marls!" Matthew said as he reached the table, "Alice is asking for you."

"I'll be there in a moment Matt," Marlene said, "Have you met Sirius's brother yet?"

Matthew shook his head, "No, I'm Matthew McKinnon."

"Regulus Black," Regulus said, shaking the tall blonde man's hand.

"Pleasure," Matthew smiled, "Come on Marls."

Marlene winked at Regulus as she let her brother drag her over to Frank and Alice.

 **TBC.**


	6. Part 1 - Chapter 6

A Moment in Time

 **6**

Narcissa Malfoy's day had been rather ordinary, yet extremely enjoyable. Once her son came to terms with the idea that he would have to share his toys he seemed to get on remarkably well with Harry and Neville, and it had been so nice for him to have two boys his own age to play with, truthfully it had done both her and Draco some good. All three boys had gone down at night easily and without a fuss. She had put them all in Draco's room, Neville and Harry were sharing the travel cot that Regulus had brought around. It was the first time in a long time that Draco had gone down for the night and hadn't cried at all. Narcissa was so surprised that she had time to herself that she didn't quite know how to spend it, she had realised just how tired she really was and had ended up going to bed at 9pm.

When Narcissa was awoken by Dobby informing her that someone was at the door; she glanced at the clock on the wall, wondering who would turn up on her doorstep at 3am in the morning. All the same Narcissa made her way downstairs in her full-length, white silk nightgown and allowed Dobby to open the door for her.

To say Narcissa was surprised when Regulus Black practically fell through the doorway was an understatement.

"Narcissa!" Regulus greeted loudly as he stumbled over to her with a freakish grin on his face.

"Regulus, shh!" Narcissa scolded him quietly, "You'll wake the boys."

She rolled her eyes as she dragged the drunken man into the living room and sat him down on the couch. It was only when she got him into the living room that she saw the damage on his face, the entrance hall was very badly lit and it was pitch dark outside. Narcissa gasped, Regulus looked as if he had been beaten within an inch of his life, he had an angry open cut down the right side of his face and his lip was burst and bleeding.

"Regulus, what happened to you?" Narcissa asked quietly as she conjured up a damp cloth.

"My brother," Regulus managed to say.

Narcissa sighed and pushed his hair back out of his face as she began to dab at the cut. Regulus didn't even flinch, the alcohol had probably numbed the pain.

"Did he beat you?" Narcissa asked, assessing his injuries.

"With magic," Regulus groaned.

"Merlin Regulus, you stink of whisky," Narcissa said, turning her nose up, "How much did you drink?"

Regulus shrugged, "Lots."

Narcissa continued to dab the last of the blood away, "And you duelled your brother in this state?"

"Yeah," Regulus replied childishly.

Narcissa then used a charm to seal the wound, "Why?"

"Seemed like a good idea at the time," Regulus slurred.

Narcissa dabbed his burst lip, making Regulus flinch just a little.

"He's right," Regulus said quietly, "I'm just a Death Eater, I always will be."

"He isn't right," Narcissa said firmly, "You are a good man, Regulus."

Regulus shook his head violently, "No!" he snapped, "I killed people, I tortured people! People died cause of me Cissa!"

Narcissa sighed, "You are being silly, Regulus."

"No!" Regulus snapped again, "Why couldn't I be more like him? Why couldn't I have left like he did? That would have showed Mum and Dad, huh! But no…I just rolled over and became a Death Eater like the stupid coward I am. I did whatever the bloody dark lord wanted! I deserved to die in that cave, you should have let me!"

"Stop!" Narcissa snapped, glaring at her cousin, "You did not deserve to die! And you do not want to be more like your brother."

"Why?" Regulus asked childishly, "He's good, he's great, he's light and everyone loves him. I'm just a piece of scum compared to him."

"Sirius might be an Auror who fought for the light," Narcissa said, "But he isn't perfect, nobody is Regulus. He has a temper, look at what his temper did to you, his baby brother!"

Regulus shook his head, "I deserved this."

"I am sure you didn't," Narcissa said, pulling him back down onto the sofa and saying, "Now come on, drink some of this."

She held water to his lips and he sipped from it. Regulus sighed, "You're too nice to me Cissa, I don't deserve it."

"Neither do I by your logic," Narcissa said calmly, "I married a Death Eater, I stood by while he did horrific things and I did nothing because I was terrified of him. Both of us did the right thing in the end though, didn't we?"

"Did we?" Regulus frowned.

Narcissa nodded and summoned Dobby, "Yes, we did. We gave the evidence that put those Death Eaters away. Can you get some sobering up potion and a few blankets please Dobby?"

"Yes Mistress," Dobby said as he disappeared for the second time.

"Now Regulus, I think you need to go to bed," Narcissa said to her cousin.

Regulus nodded, "Yeah, good idea. Just wish I could sleep though."

Narcissa sighed and told Regulus to scoot over so she could sit next to him on the sofa, "I know Regulus. I know how hard it is to put the nightmares to bed, you see the terrible things you have witnessed over and over again in those late hours. They play on your mind and torment your sleep. Trust me, I know."

Regulus nodded tearfully, "I know Cissa. You have them too, the bad dreams."

"I do," Narcissa said softly, "And sleeping is hard when you have to deal with those nightmares alone, I understand that."

"Will you stay with me?" Regulus asked as his eyes drifted shut.

Narcissa looked down at her baby cousin sadly. She nodded and stroked his shoulder length black hair, "Of course I will," she murmured.

* * *

When Regulus woke up it was to strange sounds and sensations. He felt like a banshee was screaming in his head, the sounds around him were fuzzy and difficult to make out but so damned loud and his face felt...wet. Regulus groaned and opened his eyes slowly, his eyelids felt so heavy that it was a struggle. When the room stopped spinning and came into focus Regulus realised that the wetness was the drool of not one, not two, but three little boys and all three boys were giggling.

"REGGY!" Harry screeched when he saw that Regulus had opened his eyes.

"REGGY!" Draco copied, poking Regulus in the eye.

Not to be left out Neville followed suit with a "REGGY!" and a poke to Regulus's other eye.

"Ow," Regulus mumbled as he sat up carefully so as not to knock the boys flying, his head spun and he felt sick but then the room came into focus again and Regulus saw an amused and exasperated Narcissa leaning in the doorway.

"Good morning Regulus," Narcissa said as she handed him a potion to help with his hangover and a glass of water.

"Morning Narcissa, you're an angel," Regulus said gratefully as he swallowed the potion and downed the glass of water in one go.

"How much did you drink last night?" Narcissa asked as she lifted the boys from Regulus's chest and put them on the floor where all of the toys were.

"I'd tell you if I could remember," Regulus said honestly, his head was pounding and the last thing he remembered was sitting around in the lounge with Sirius, Remus and copious amounts of firewhiskey.

"How did I get here?" Regulus asked Narcissa.

She shook her head, "I've no idea, I assume you apparated and if so you were lucky not to be splinched with the state you were in last night."

Regulus frowned, "No! I've been here overnight! I've broken the terms of my house arrest."

Narcissa grimaced, "Which means Sirius has to pay a 100 galleon fine. You aren't allowed to leave the house unsupervised by Sirius for any longer than an hour, are you?"

Regulus shook his head and groaned, "Sirius is going to kill me."

"From what I saw, he tried to last night," Narcissa said darkly.

Regulus cringed, "I'm sorry Narcissa," he said.

Narcissa shook her head, "It's okay, I understand that things aren't easy for you at the moment, Regulus."

Regulus nodded, grateful that the potion seemed to be working so quickly. It was then that he yawned and realised that his face hurt. He hissed in pain and felt his face, feeling the cut down the side and the burst lip, "Ouch."

"I did the best I could last night," Narcissa admitted, "You were covered in blood when you came in. I gathered from what you said that you and Sirius had duelled."

"Yes," Regulus admitted, hissing in pain again as he tried to move, his back was aching, "I can't remember exactly what it was about…we had all had far too much to drink."

"I thought the tensions were beginning to ebb," Narcissa said as she sat down on the floor with the boys and enchanted the little toy broomsticks again so they zoomed in circles around them.

"So did I," Regulus said, "But when alcohol is thrown into the mix…well things deteriorate. My brother and I both have a habit of drinking more than our bodies or minds can handle."

"Family trait," Narcissa joked, a dark look passing across her face.

Regulus gave her a sympathetic look, "I suppose it is. I had really hoped that we had a chance of reconciling."

"I think that you still do," Narcissa said optimistically.

"You really want Sirius and I to make things right, don't you?" Regulus asked, surveying his older cousin.

"I would like our family to be that again, a real family," Narcissa admitted, "Is that wrong of me?"

Regulus shook his head and grabbed her hand, "Of course not. Do you have any more of that hangover potion?"

Narcissa shook her head, "No, that's the end of this year's bottle I'm afraid."

Regulus raised his eyebrow at the woman, "You went through a whole bottle in a year?" he asked.

She shrugged, the light-hearted mood gone briefly, "It hasn't been an easy year."

"I know Narcissa, I'm sorry, that was a stupid thing to say," Regulus said sheepishly.

Narcissa shook her head, "Don't be silly. Would you like some breakfast? The boys and I are already fed."

Regulus shook his head, "No thanks, I'm not very hungry."

"I'm not surprised," Narcissa said with a smirk.

"How bad was I last night?" Regulus asked.

"I've never seen you drunk so I have nothing to compare it to but you were slurring and saying some nonsense." Narcissa said.

"Anything embarrassing?" Regulus asked, watching Narcissa closely.

The blonde woman smiled and shook her head, "No grand confessions of love for surprising parties," she promised.

"Well that's something," Regulus said, leaning back and closing his eyes as he started to get some blurry memories of the night before coming back to him.

 _ **Regulus, Sirius and Remus's silence was broken when the group finally got drunk enough to let go of any previous inhibitions, they just wanted to talk so that they couldn't think. They were sitting in armchairs in the lounge, the rest of the guests had left the wake and the boys were still with Narcissa.**_

" _ **Why don't we get to know each other better?" Remus said brightly, he was the lightweight. Regulus had spent too long drinking his sorrows away to get drunk that easily and Sirius had always been able to hold his liquor better than Remus.**_

" _ **Get to know each other?" Sirius asked with a raised eyebrow, he had been drinking for much longer than Remus and was certainly tipsy, "Regulus and I were sort of raised together and I think I know you extremely well Remus."**_

 _ **Regulus made a face, "That is disgusting Sirius," he muttered but Sirius only stuck his tongue out his brother.**_

 _ **Remus rolled his eyes, "I mean I should get to know Regulus better and you two should get to re-know each other."**_

" _ **And how do you suggest we do that?" Regulus asked sceptically.**_

" _ **Well, we can take it in turns to ask questions!" Remus said with a smile like this was a genius idea, he was way too happy for someone whose best friends had just been buried.**_

" _ **Fine," Regulus said dryly, looking to Remus to ask the first question. Sirius seemed to be doing the same thing, it had been his idea after all.**_

" _ **Right, so, um, who was your first kiss with?" Remus eventually asked, looking to Sirius first who bit his lip and answered, "Um...James."**_

" _ **WHAT?!" Remus asked, his eyes widening, "Our James?"**_

 _ **Sirius nodded, "We were like 13 okay!" He said in his defence, "We were just...you know...experimenting."**_

 _ **Regulus sniggered, "That's the excuse you used with Frank Longbottom too," he muttered.**_

" _ **I can't believe you kissed James and never told me," Remus said, although he was more amused than angry, "I always thought you two spent way too much time together."**_

 _ **Sirius's cheeks were a little red, "Whatever, how about yours then Remus?"**_

 _ **Remus blushed a little, "Lily," he admitted, "It was in 2**_ _ **nd**_ _ **year, I had a bit of a crush on her."**_

" _ **Ooh!" Sirius gasped, "I bet James didn't know about that one."**_

 _ **Remus nodded, "No he knew, Lily told him but since she also told him it was a pity kiss, he just laughed."**_

" _ **So Regulus, who was yours?" Sirius asked, turning to his brother.**_

" _ **Alice," Regulus said sheepishly, "It was in my 4**_ _ **th**_ _ **year and her 6**_ _ **th**_ _ **and it was most definitely a pity kiss too."**_

 _ **Sirius snorted and Remus said, "Your turn to think of a question, Sirius."**_

 _ **Sirius got a dirty grin on his face, "Alright, lets dive right into the dirty stuff, best shag," He looked to Remus whose face was already red, "You first Remy."**_

" _ **I have to say you, obviously," Remus said, rolling his eyes.**_

 _ **Regulus made a face, "This is going to get very awkward very quickly, living with you two."**_

 _ **Sirius snorted, "Best shag Reg, have you had more than one?"**_

 _ **Regulus glared at his brother, "Yes, I have."**_

" _ **Answer the question then," Sirius urged.**_

" _ **No," Regulus said, crossing his arms, "I have more decorum than you two idiots."**_

 _ **Sirius opened his mouth to argue but Remus cut in before he had a chance,**_ ** _"_** _ **So...First crush, Sirius?"**_

" _ **Merlin, I can't remember," Sirius frowned, "Dromeda probably. She was a bit of a wild child, always had a bit of a thing for her actually."**_

" _ **She's our**_ _ **cousin!" Regulus muttered, shaking his head in disbelief.**_

 _ **Sirius only snorted, "Who was yours, Reggy?"**_

" _ **Marlene," Regulus replied.**_

" _ **McKinnon?" Remus asked, glancing warily at Sirius.**_

 _ **Regulus nodded, "Yes…why are you both looking at me like that?"**_

" _ **The one woman who turned your brother down, repeatedly," Remus joked.**_

" _ **Yeah," Sirius laughed, "She wouldn't be interested in you, Reg."**_

 _ **Regulus frowned, "And what are you basing that on?"**_

" _ **Well if she wasn't interested in me then why would she be interested in you?" Sirius quipped.**_

" _ **Because I'm nothing like you!" Regulus snapped.**_

 _ **Sirius snorted, "You're just a younger, less handsome version of me."**_

" _ **No, I'm not!" Regulus said, getting to his feet, "I'm more than that!"**_

" _ **How are you more than that? Somehow you have to drag yourself back up from being a Death Eater!" Sirius exclaimed.**_

" _ **Liking Marlene has nothing to do with that!" Regulus shouted, "She doesn't care that I was a Death Eater, she told me so tonight!"**_

" _ **Then she was pitying you," Sirius snorted, "Like everyone does. Poor little Regulus, the poor little virgin."**_

" _ **Shut up!" Regulus snapped as Remus looked between the two brothers in alarm, "Maybe I haven't had lots of girlfriends, maybe I haven't slept with a lot of people but that isn't a bad thing!"**_

" _ **Well," Sirius began.**_

 _ **Regulus glared at him, "I have some integrity Sirius! If you love Remus so much, why did you sleep with anything that moved throughout the first two years of your relationship?"**_

" _ **You're just jealous that I can get anyone to sleep with me."**_

" _ **Why would I be jealous of a pathetic player who uses sex as a way to find comfort in his sad life?"**_

" _ **At least I CAN do that. Who would sleep a Death Eater like you?"**_

" _ **Someone who prefers an ex-Death Eater to an arrogant bastard, clearly!"**_

" _ **You bastard!"**_

 _ **Apparently forgetting that they were Wizards and that they had wands the two men threw themselves at each other and began to scratch and punch, shouting insults all the while.**_

 _ **Remus cursed to himself and ran forward to pull them apart, the result of his attempt was that both men hit him at the same time, pushing him back and knocking him out.**_

 _ **Regulus managed to get on his feet. He glared at Sirius as his older brother drew his wand, beginning a fast, violent duel in which Regulus stood no chance.**_

Regulus groaned, he still couldn't remember getting here or being here but he assumed that was because that was when he was at his most drunk. The fight and the duel had come back to him though, very vividly.

"Are you alright Regulus?" Narcissa asked from the floor, Regulus found the sight a very charming one. She was lying on her front playing with a toy ball, she would throw it to each of the boys and they would throw it back.

"I'm fine; I just started to remember bits from last night." Regulus admitted, "I remember why I fought with Sirius."

"And? Was it for a good reason?" Narcissa asked.

Before Regulus could answer Draco threw the soft ball at Narcissa and it hit her on the side of the head because she hadn't been paying attention.

"Draco, don't hit Mummy," Narcissa said in a semi-scolding, semi-amused way.

Draco just giggled and attempted to look innocent. Smiling Narcissa threw the ball back and hit Draco on the head with it. The little boy frowned, "Bad Mama!" He shouted.

Regulus sniggered at this and Narcissa smiled, "I'm sorry Draco, Mummy didn't mean it."

Narcissa stood up and left the boys to their own devices, she sat down at the end of the sofa and asked Regulus, "So? What was the reason for the fight?"

"Remus suggested we play some silly game to 'get to know each other' apparently," Regulus said, rolling his eyes, "Which is extremely immature I know, but we had consumed a large amount of firewhiskey by this point."

Narcissa chuckled and Regulus continued, "We asked a couple of novelty questions and then the 'who was your first crush?' question came up and I answered Marlene."

"Marlene McKinnon," Narcissa mused, "Beautiful girl."

"Complete with intelligence, humour and wit," Regulus said, a smile playing on his face.

"You are still fond of her, I see," Narcissa smiled.

Regulus shrugged, "Perhaps. However, the subject brought about an argument because Sirius was turned down by her and he could not comprehend that a girl who didn't want him could possibly want me."

Narcissa scoffed, "He always was arrogant."

"I know," Regulus admitted, "But the whole thing just descended into violence after that."

Narcissa shook her head disapprovingly, "That is why two brothers who have been estranged for years shouldn't get drunk together."

"Tell me about it," Regulus mumbled as he sat up and stretched, he felt much better than he had when he first woke up, "Well, I suppose I should be getting the boys home now. Sirius told Frank and Alice that we would have Neville home by lunchtime."

Narcissa nodded, "One condition," she said, "I'm apparating the boys back, I don't trust you to do it after the amount you were drinking last night."

Regulus nodded, "That is a very sensible and reasonable idea," he said with a chuckle as Narcissa picked the boys up and made her way to the door. Regulus followed her a little gingerly and for the first time felt a little nervous about going back to Potter Manor, he had the feeling that Sirius and Remus weren't going to be in the greatest of moods with him.

* * *

When Regulus and Narcissa reached the gates of Potter Manor Regulus took a breath to calm himself and offered to take Harry and Neville from Narcissa as although she was tall she was very thin and he knew that carrying three one year olds wasn't easy for her. The duo walked up the path together and Regulus placed his hand on the door to open it. He walked gingerly through the door, feeling like he was doing the 6am walk of shame, even though it was easily past 10am. The second that the doors shut behind Narcissa was when the chaos started.

"He's back!" Sirius called, walking into the entrance hall looking a lot worse than Regulus, which made the Slytherin smug for a brief moment.

"Bastard!" Sirius shouted at Regulus who rolled his eyes, he should have known Sirius would be immature about the night before, he wouldn't be a man and get over it as he and Remus would.

"Bastard!" Harry said, copying his Godfather.

"Harry Potter!" Regulus scolded, "No!"

Harry made a face and then quieted down, "I'm sorry Sirius," Regulus said as he took the boys into the living room and popped them in Harry's playpen. Narcissa followed and put Draco down with the other two boys.

"Guess who just got a howler about a 100 galleon fine?" Sirius asked, glaring at his brother.

"Like you gave me a choice!" Regulus snapped, "I could hardly stay here after last night!"

"Regulus, hush," Narcissa said quietly but firmly, "You are both at fault here. Agree to split the fine two ways and be done with it, yes?"

Regulus and Sirius both nodded, the latter more reluctantly than the former.

"You are such a mess Sirius," Narcissa said in her motherly way. She pushed her cousin onto the sofa and conjured up a cloth and a bucket.

"I'm fine Narcissa," Sirius said as he glared at her.

She just gave him a stern look, "Stay still and stop being stupid," she said simply as she wiped the dry blood from his face and with a few swishes of her wand managed to return his face to normality, minus a couple of pale lines where Regulus had clawed him, another couple of swishes vanished the bruises.

"Thanks," Sirius mumbled grudgingly.

"You two both need to apologise, you both drank too much last night, you didn't mean what you said," Narcissa said logically, playing the role of the peacemaker since Remus wasn't around.

"Yes I did!" Both men said at the same time, they were silent for a moment and then glared at each other.

Narcissa sighed, "Are we back in the playpen boys?" She asked jokingly.

"He started it," Sirius mumbled as he glared at his brother.

"Technically, Remus started it," Regulus corrected, glancing around and asking, "Where _is_ Remus?"

"I'm here."

The voice made Sirius and Regulus spin around and they both winced, Remus had two black eyes, clearly one from each man.

"Shit Remus, I'm sorry," Sirius said, looking as guilty as Regulus felt.

"I'm sorry too Remus, last night was stupid," Regulus said.

"Yes, it was stupid," Remus said, angry with them both, "There was no cause for it, I just wanted us to try and get on and be able to laugh together but you couldn't even manage that without trying to kill each other. Are you men or children?" He asked as he walked out of the room.

Narcissa gave both the men reprimanding looks, "If you'll excuse me I'm going to see to Remus."

She gave them both dirty looks and followed Remus into the library. She smiled at him and asked, "Do you want me to have a look at those bruises?"

Remus was a little unsure of himself at first. Sirius and Regulus seemed to like and trust their cousin but they both knew her far better than Remus did. He nodded, "I'd appreciate that."

Narcissa pulled a chair over and sat across from him. She winced when she saw just how bad his two black eyes were, "Close your eyes," she instructed as she carefully cast a few spells to remove the bruising.

"You can open them now," Narcissa said, conjuring a mirror and asking if that was better.

Remus nodded, "Thank you, you're very good at medical charms."

Narcissa shrugged, "I was training to be a Medi-Witch before I married Lucius. If only I had known how useful that would be, I suppose it's a perk of being married to a Death Eater."

"You shouldn't joke about that," Remus said sadly,

Narcissa just smiled, "I find joking about things is the best way to deal with them."

"It must be a family trait," Remus said.

Narcissa laughed, "Likely," she said, "I know they were both idiots last night, but I also know that they are both sorry."

Remus nodded, "I guess sometimes I just like to give Sirius a hard time, just to prove I'm not a complete pushover."

"I understand that," Narcissa said honestly, "I know Regulus broke the terms of his house arrest last night but I think he needed to talk to someone who was a little more removed from his situation. He is very sweet on Marlene McKinnon you know."

"I got that impression," Remus admitted, "And I think Sirius totally over-reacted."

"Do not take this the wrong way," Narcissa said carefully, "But he does tend to do that."

Remus laughed and nodded, "Yes, he does."

Narcissa smiled at him and got to her feet, "Speaking of my idiotic cousins, I had better go and check on them."

When Narcissa walked back into the room it was to see the two men sitting in separate armchairs not looking at each other.

"Oh, come on," Narcissa said as she sat down on the sofa opposite the two men, "You need to talk. Remus won't make up with you until you make up with Regulus," she said, fibbing a little to encourage the two brothers to stop acting like little children.

Regulus sighed, "Sirius, I apologise for fighting with you last night but if we are going to be forced to live together you have to come to terms with my decisions and my feelings. Marlene indicated that she liked me and I was going to take her out for dinner."

"How can you do that under house arrest?" Narcissa asked pointedly.

Regulus's face fell, "Oh…crap. I hadn't thought about that."

Narcissa sighed, "You would have to take her out under Sirius's supervision."

"Nope," Sirius said firmly.

"Or invite her here," Narcissa added.

"And nope," Sirius said.

"Sirius!" Regulus snapped, "You and Remus are together, why are you jealous about me liking Marlene?"

"I'm not jealous!" Sirius snapped, "Marlene is my friend and you are my brother, if I thought for one second that it would work I would be happy for you but-"

"But what?" Regulus asked irritably.

Sirius sighed, "But you were a Death Eater and Marlene is as pure as they come. I don't want you to get hurt when she realises that your past is a problem, I don't want the press to massacre you when they find out you showed any interest in her."

Narcissa smiled slightly, "So you were looking out for each other, in your own way."

Sirius glared at his cousin, "Merlin Narcissa, you are a meddlesome pain."

"And you two need me," Narcissa added.

Both brothers remained silent because they knew that she was right.

"Shake hands," Narcissa demanded with a slight smile.

Sirius rolled his eyes, "Jesus woman, do you want us to make an unbreakable vow as well?" he joked as he reached out his hand to Regulus. The Slytherin took it and they shook quickly then dropped their hands.

Narcissa smiled, seemingly quite pleased with herself, "My work here is done," she joked as she lifted Draco out of the playpen, "And now I need to get back to the Manor, someone is coming to value it for me."

"You're going through with it?" Regulus asked in surprise, he hadn't suspected that she would, not this soon anyway.

Narcissa nodded, "Oh yes, I'm definitely selling it, I'm not sure when yet but I won't stay there any longer than I need to."

Regulus nodded, he understood that, "Who do you think will buy it?" He asked, he knew the Manor would be expensive.

"The Ministry I expect," Sirius piped up, "They are in desperate need of places that big for new orphanages or hospitals after the war. Nobody knows how much money they have to blow."

"I expect you're probably right," Narcissa said to Sirius, "But in all honesty I don't care who buys the place as long as I don't need to live there."

"Do you know where you are going to go yet?" Regulus asked.

Narcissa sighed and shook her head, "No, I don't believe Andromeda will take too kindly to me turning up on her doorstep after 8 years."

Sirius chuckled, "No, I don't believe she would," he agreed, "You know there is Black Manor?"

Narcissa wrinkled her nose, "I appreciate the offer Sirius but I could never live with Aunt Walburga."

"Yes, that is very true." Sirius agreed as he made a face, he hated his Mother and that house.

"Like I said before Regulus, I'll figure something out; the money I get from selling the Manor should be more than enough to find somewhere suitable for Draco and I," Narcissa said with a smile.

"Well good luck," Sirius said smiling at his cousin; he actually got on remarkably well with her.

Narcissa thanked him and was about to walk out of the door when she was stopped by a shout.

"DWACO!"

Narcissa turned to see that Harry had somehow managed to magic himself out of the playpen and was standing by her leg crying.

"HAWWY!" Draco called out, and he started to cry too. Back in the playpen Neville was too busy trying to eat one of Harry's cuddly toys to notice what was going on.

Sirius walked over to Narcissa and picked Harry up, it stopped him crying and Draco stopped when Harry stopped, "I think they're going to miss each other," he said.

Narcissa smiled, "That's sweet. Why don't we arrange a playdate weekly so that they can see each other?"

"That's a good idea." Sirius agreed, "How is Saturday? I need to go back to work tomorrow so I'll be looking after Harry on weekends."

"Saturday is perfect," Narcissa said, "Come by at 10am."

"Sure," Sirius said, "See you then."

With that Narcissa left the Manor. Sirius put Harry back in the playpen and sat down in the armchair, feeling a little ill again from the night before.

"I suppose I should get Neville back to Frank and Alice," Sirius said as he stretched and yawned.

"That is probably a good idea," Regulus said, glancing over to where the two boys were playing together. Sirius stood up and changed his clothes with magic.

"I'll try my best not to break the terms of my house arrest when you're out," Regulus joked dryly causing Sirius to glare at him.

"Too soon?" Regulus asked.

Sirius didn't reply as he walked over to the playpen and lifted Neville out of it, he gently took the cuddly toy off of him and after a drying charm put it back in Harry's playpen. When Sirius turned around again he said to Regulus, "When I come back I'm going to have to mend a lot of fences with Remus."

"It shouldn't be too hard," Regulus mused, "You two have a strong relationship, don't you?"

Sirius sighed, "I don't know. It took me a long time to tell him how I felt and it took him an even longer time to tell me he felt the same. I don't want to lose him now, so I suppose I cling a little bit too tightly sometimes."

Regulus merely nodded; he had clearly underestimated what was between Sirius and Remus.

Sirius glanced down at Neville, "I shouldn't be too long, but I'm going to Honeydukes after I've dropped him off to get some apology chocolate for Remus. Do you want anything?"

"Well if you're offering, some blood drops would be nice." Regulus said.

Sirius rolled his eyes, "I always knew you were a vampire, Regulus."

Regulus chuckled as he heard Sirius leave the house and the oak doors slam shut for a second time. In a way the fight the night before seemed to have made himself and Sirius closer, it was as if they had both exploded and years of bottled up anger had all come out in one night. Regulus definitely felt lighter for it.

"So you and Marls?" Remus said, walking into the room.

"Don't go there," Regulus said, rolling his eyes, "We spoke for the first time at the funeral yesterday. Then we had a conversation during the wake."

"You like her though," Remus prodded.

"I do," Regulus admitted, "But my non-existent relationship with a woman out of my league really isn't important right now. It's you and Sirius who are fighting."

"I heard your conversation," Remus admitted, "And I feel guilty."

"I wouldn't," Regulus said, "I think you probably needed it as much as he did, you wouldn't be a couple if you didn't fight."

"Hmm," Remus mused, "Do you think so?"

Regulus nodded, "It's a sign of a passionate relationship, so they say. I wouldn't know, I haven't really had one."

"You're still young," Remus said with a smile, "All in due time."

"Perhaps," Regulus mused, "I would like a wife and children someday, Harry has helped me realise that. I think he is something of a godsend in fact."

"He's the thing that links us all together," Remus agreed, "He makes us a family."

"A very dysfunctional one," Regulus added, "But we are a family. Sirius is my brother and by association that makes you a part of this family. I know that Narcissa is our cousin but I sometimes find it hard to see her as anything other than an overbearing Mother figure."

"A family involving two brothers, their cousin and a werewolf," Remus laughed, "Dysfunctional indeed."

It was then that the front door opened and Sirius re-entered the room. He smiled at the two men, "Frank and Alice were glad to get Neville back, they thought we had kidnapped him."

Remus and Regulus chuckled and Sirius then pulled a bag out of his pocket, "Here's some apology chocolate Remus," he said sheepishly as he threw a couple of bars of Honeydukes chocolate at the werewolf.

"You're forgiven," Remus said easily as he bit into the much needed chocolate.

"And your blood drops my vampire brother," Sirius said as he threw a packet of blood drops to Regulus who rolled his eyes at the insult.

Harry again appeared to magic himself out of the playpen.

"Oh dear," Remus said, "We're going to need to magic proof that playpen."

"Hmm, he does have strong underage magic," Regulus agreed.

Sirius nodded, "He's going to be a great Wizard one day."

"Oh I don't doubt it," Regulus said, wondering why Harry was so desperate to be out of the playpen. The baby crawled over to Remus and sat at his feet, looking up at him sweetly.

"What do you want Harry?" Remus asked the boy with a chuckle.

"Chwocklate," Harry said, cocking his head at Remus and reaching towards the chocolate piece Remus was holding.

"Whats the magic word Harry?" Sirius asked with a smile at the cute little boy.

"Pweeeeeease Remy," Harry said in a very long drawn out way.

Remus laughed and popped a little bit of chocolate into Harry's mouth, he proceeded to make noises like 'Mmm' through the chocolate causing Sirius to burst out laughing and claim that they had a 'mini Remus' on their hands.

It was in such a simple moment that Sirius, Remus and Regulus realised that the biggest, toughest walls separating them had come down and that it was all because of Harry. It was like Remus said; he really did unite them all in a way that would never have occurred if the tragedy of Lily and James's deaths hadn't happened.

Such a simple moment with Sirius laughing and Remus chuckling and Harry enjoying chocolate made Regulus take up the belief that everything happened for a reason, and while he didn't know the reason yet he was sure the big guy up in the sky did. For the first time ever Regulus felt like part of a family, a family that he could be proud of.

 **TBC.  
**


	7. Part 1 - Chapter 7

A Moment in Time

 **7**

When Tuesday morning loomed Sirius found himself feeling more than a little sad as he put his standard brown Auror robes on and dragged himself down the stairs with a sleepy Harry. On autopilot he placed the boy in his high chair and gave him his spoon to let him demolish his cereal. Sirius yawned as he drank his coffee and ate his toast.

It was 7am and Sirius was going back to work today which meant that he wouldn't be seeing as much of Harry as he would have liked. He had mixed feelings about going back, he needed to because now that Lily and James were gone he was the person who needed to support Harry. Regulus physically couldn't get a job at the moment and Sirius knew that Remus would help if he could, but due to his condition he couldn't find work.

Sirius sighed, he was going to miss the boy more than he would admit.

"Morning," Remus said with a yawn as he walked into the dining room and sat down, he looked awful but Sirius knew it was because of the full moon tomorrow.

"You look terrible," Sirius said, a hint of concern making its way into his voice.

"Thanks," Remus joked with a weak chuckle, "I'm more worried than usual about this it this month, I don't want to hurt Harry."

"I'm sure you won't," Sirius said, "I'll be with you, like I always am."

"First moon without James and Peter though," Remus said, looking sadly at Sirius, "It's just the two of us now."

Pain flashed through Sirius's eyes, "You will be fine. Reg said he would watch Harry so you and I can go into the woods behind the Quidditch pitch and have a run around, like we always do."

"But what if I hurt someone?" Remus asked anxiously.

"You won't," Sirius assured him, "The Manor is in the middle of nowhere and I'll be there like I always am. It will be fine Remus, I promise."

"Alright," Remus reasoned gently as he tried to hide the small smile of fondness that had slipped onto his face.

Sirius looked away from his other half to glance at the time. He sighed, "I'm going to have to leave."

"He'll still be here when you come home Sirius," Remus assured him.

Sirius glanced to the boy who had now finished his breakfast, "I know," he said as he cleaned Harry and vanished the dishes to the kitchen.

He lifted Harry out of the high chair and managed to smile at him, "Goodbye Harry," he said, "You be good for Remus and Uncle Regulus, I'll see you really soon."

Sirius then kissed Harry on the cheek and handed him to Remus. The moment Remus took Harry he began to cry which broke Sirius's heart a little but he needed to go to work, he sighed and walked out of the door.

"NO! SIRI!" Harry shouted and Sirius continued to walk but Harry's continuous shouts upset him more and more. Eventually he got to the front door and left, he had never felt so guilty. As he walked down the path and apparated to the Ministry he embarrassedly wiped his eyes, what was wrong with him? Sirius Black did not cry!

He clocked in, had his wand checked and got into an elevator. It was about to close when someone pushed their way in and frowned at him, "You alright, Sirius?"

Sirius frowned, "Fine," he lied.

"You've always been a terrible liar," Frank said, raising an eyebrow at him, "And you know you can't lie to me, I'm your Auror partner."

Sirius sighed, "It was just Harry…he didn't cope well with me leaving this morning. He kept crying and shouting my name."

Frank looked at him sympathetically, "I guess it makes sense. The last people who left him were his parents and they…."

"Never came back," Sirius finished, clearing his throat.

"Yeah," Frank said quietly, "But I'm sure he'll settle when he realises that you're going to come back in the evenings. Neville was a little terror for his Gran when Alice and I went back to work."

Sirius nodded, "I hope so, I can't deal with that every morning."

Frank smiled, "Having kids softens you Sirius, but I must say that I never thought I'd see the day that a child brought you to your knees."

Sirius smiled weakly, "He's a special kid though Frank."

"I know," Frank agreed, "But take your mind off of him for the moment, yeah? You're back at work and oh boy, you have so much catching up to do here. I think we've caught about 24 Death Eaters, we're chasing down another 10 at the moment and trying to lure the rest out of hiding."

That cheered Sirius up. He did as Frank said as they stepped out of the elevator and walked towards the Auror cubicles, "Come on then, let's get to work."

* * *

"No, no Harry, stop crying," Remus was saying as he handed Harry a cuddly toy, he had tried everything he could think of, he had tried to rock him and lift him up and put him down to run around but Harry still screamed. Regulus had come down to help but he hadn't been able to calm the baby either. Harry was red in the face and would only stop screaming to take a breath and prepare for the next scream. Remus knew that if Sirius had been in this situation he would have put earplugs in and waited for it to stop but Remus was far too motherly for that, he was worried Harry would hurt himself or make himself sick screaming.

Harry accepted the toy that Regulus had given him only to throw it at Remus and hit him in the face with it. He had briefly stopped crying but he began to scream holy murder again and Remus groaned, he really needed Sirius right now, he couldn't cope with the full moon tomorrow and a screaming, distraught child on top of that.

Eventually Remus and Regulus could no longer take any more of it, "Right!" Remus shouted, "That's it!" He picked Harry up and stormed up the stairs, he dressed himself and then forced clothes onto a screaming, wriggling Harry and then appeared back in the living room, "You better stay here Regulus."

Regulus nodded glumly and Remus left the house as fast as he could, apparating to the first place he thought of.

When Remus knocked on the door of The Burrow he was met with a security question, "State who you are with proof."

"It's Remus John Lupin," Remus called over Harry's screams, "I am otherwise known as Moony because I'm a werewolf."

There was a pause and the door opened. Molly looked suspiciously at him and Remus sighed, "It was weak I know but I am worked off my feet with Harry right now."

Molly looked from the screaming child to the exhausted Remus and stood back to let him in, "I'm sorry Remus, I'm still paranoid even though they say he's dead," She admitted.

"I understand," Remus said, looking desperately at Molly "Is there anything you can do to make him stop crying. I've tried everything."

Molly smiled as she took the boy from Remus, "Why and when did he start?" she asked.

"About 7.30 this morning when Sirius left for his first day back at work," Remus said.

"So you really are raising Harry together?" She asked as she held Harry in a certain way and patted his back. He continued to scream but it got quieter and quieter until he was finally calm.

"That's amazing," Remus said in awe, "And yes, we're living at Potter Manor with Harry. Regulus is staying with us too."

"I had heard that he was alive," Molly said, "And he handed a lot of Death Eaters over to the Ministry."

"He is trying really hard to make amends," Remus admitted, "But Sirius is struggling to forgive him. He's on house arrest under Sirius's supervision and…well it hasn't been easy."

"I can imagine," Molly said softly, "This poor thing has been screaming himself sick. I can understand why he got attached to Sirius so quickly though…after what he must have gone through already in his young life."

Remus nodded and glanced around, the house was relatively quiet, "Where are your bunch?" He asked.

Molly smiled, "It's quiet for a change now that Bill is at Hogwarts."

She led Remus into the living room which was empty, "Charlie and Percy are upstairs entertaining Fred and George, and Ron and Ginny are sleeping."

"You look marvellous for someone who has just given birth by the way." Remus said to Molly who beamed and blushed, "Oh thank you Remus."

"What age is Ron now?" Remus asked as he watched Molly gently rock Harry, she had far too much experience with this.

"He's 1 and half." Molly said, "Around Harry's age I imagine."

Remus nodded, "About 4 months apart, I suspect they'll be in the same year at Hogwarts."

Molly nodded again, "Who knows, they might be friends."

Remus opened his mouth to tell Molly about Harry's new friends when a baby started to cry in a nearby room. The cry set off another cry and it was clear both Ginny and Ron had woken up. Molly sighed as she handed Harry back to Remus, "I'm going to have to run Remus," she apologised.

"No problem Molly," Remus said and he thanked her for what she had done for Harry then left The Burrow and apparated back to Potter Manor.

Harry had fallen asleep in Molly's arms and Remus was being very careful as he walked up the path and into the Manor so as not to wake him. Remus got to the entrance hall and breathed a sigh of relief that Harry was still asleep; finally he would get some rest.

A loud crack sounded and Velda appeared. Harry started to scream again as he woke up.

Remus growled in frustration, "I'd just gotten him to sleep, he's been screaming all morning!"

"Velda is very sorry Master Remus!"

Remus groaned and put Harry down in his cot, closing the door and placing a muffliato charm on the room so he didn't have to listen to Harry's screaming anymore. He sighed as he sat in the library with his head in his hands, he couldn't raise a baby, he didn't even know how to make Harry stop crying. Sirius and Regulus had this covered, they didn't need him here.

Remus felt sick and his head was killing him, he needed to get away, far away, he didn't want to hurt Harry.

* * *

Regulus was concerned after Remus's breakdown. He stepped into the nursery and picked Harry up. He glanced down at the boy, "Stop crying. It will not get you any sympathy from me."

Harry stopped crying for a moment then started again. Regulus just looked at him and said, "No."

Harry seemed to think about it for a few minutes and then decided to stop crying. Regulus breathed a sigh of relief and gave Harry his morning snack. He ended up with spat out crackers covering his face and robes. After that Harry began to roar and scream once more and nothing Regulus did would stop him. He rolled his eyes and took Harry out of the Manor, he apparated to Malfoy Manor and hoped against all hope that Narcissa was in.

When he knocked on the door and Narcissa answered he was extremely grateful, "Oh Narcissa, thank Merlin you're in. I can't get Harry to stop crying, Sirius is the only one who can stop him and he's working."

Narcissa chuckled, "Come in Regulus," she said.

He followed Narcissa into the living room and the moment that Harry saw Draco he stopped crying and his eyes lit up, "DWACO!" He shouted, trying to wriggle out of Regulus's arms.

"HAWWY!" Draco called back making Narcissa smile.

Regulus put Harry down and let him toddle over to Draco where he seemed back to himself again. Regulus practically collapsed onto Narcissa's sofa, "That's better," he sighed.

"They seem at ease with each other," Narcissa commented as she watched the two boys.

Regulus couldn't help but agree, "I'm glad Harry has a friend," he said.

"As I am that Draco has Harry," Narcissa said, "Why was he so upset? Because Sirius left?"

Regulus nodded, "From what Remus said he hadn't stopped screaming since Sirius left for work this morning. Remus seems stressed out of his mind, he just left Harry in his room and put a silencing charm up. I was worried so I tried to calm him down."

"Harry is clearly attached to his Godfather," Narcissa reasoned, "But when he realises that Sirius will come home at the end of the day, he won't cry all day long."

"I hope so," Regulus said, rubbing his eyes, "I think Sirius is struggling with the separation too. I have never really seen a fatherly side of my brother until now. He has floo-ed 3 times to ask how Harry is. I lied of course, I didn't want him worrying when he should be working."

Narcissa nodded, "I think that is the right thing to do but don't worry, Harry will settle eventually."

"I hope so," Regulus yawned.

Narcissa reached across and took his hand, "I am glad you visited Regulus. I wanted to talk to you about my divorce to Lucius. I need a witness to sign the papers at the Ministry and I was hoping you would fulfil the role for me."

"Don't you need the Husband to sign before it can be legalised?" Regulus asked keeping a close eye on Harry.

"Usually," Narcissa replied, "But if you have exceptional circumstances and can provide proof, it can be legalised without the signature."

"Well, you certainly have exceptional circumstances," Regulus said softly, "Of course I will be your witness. Just let me know when you need me, I'll probably need Sirius to supervise me."

"Of course," Narcissa smiled, "Thank you Regulus."

* * *

"Letter for you Auror Black!"

Sirius accepted the letter from the Junior Auror, "Cheers Rhona."

"Who's writing to you?" Frank asked noisily from the cubicle next to his.

"Looks like Remus's writing," Sirius said, opening the letter and glancing down at it.

 _Dear Sirius,_

 _I'm sorry to run off without saying goodbye but I can't be around Harry, the full moon is coming up and it's just too difficult. I'm sure you and Regulus will cope fine, just take care of Harry and don't come looking for me, it's too dangerous._

 _Yours,_

 _Remus._

"Shit!" Sirius cursed.

"What is it?" Frank asked.

"Remus has decided to run away," Sirius said, the fear flashing through his eyes clear to Frank. Very few people knew about Sirius and Remus's relationship, Frank and his wife Alice were included in that few.

"Why would he run away?" Frank asked with a frown.

"He's worried that he isn't good enough for Harry," Sirius said, throwing on his robes, "I need to go and find him Frank, will you cover for me?"

"Of course I will, you idiot," Frank said, patting Sirius on the back, "Go find him."

* * *

Narcissa Malfoy spent her day having a good time with her son and his new best friend. She had offered to look after Harry for the rest of the day to let Regulus have a bit of a break. He had gone back to Potter Manor before he went over the hour limit of his house arrest and she had been left alone with the two children.

Narcissa was starting to view Harry as a second son, goodness knew that he needed a mother figure in his life; he couldn't grow up under the influence of 3 men. Narcissa magically expanded Draco's pushchair so the boys could sit next to each other in it, she sat both the boys inside and put a hat on Harry to cover his scar so that he didn't get any unwanted attention. Narcissa had then taken the boys to Diagon Alley, she'd bought both of the boys a small ice-cream and had let them get messy. Then she had taken them to the soft play area in Diagon Alley before buying them both toy wands that shot harmless sparks.

When it came to 6pm Narcissa apparated to a muggle park with a pushchair in her magically extended bag. Once she had apparated, she took the pushchair out and put the two boys inside. It was cosy but they both fitted into it quite nicely.

"Good evening, Narcissa."

Narcissa smiled at her companion, "Good evening, Alice."

"How are you feeling about life today?" Alice asked, falling into step with the woman.

"Very good," Narcissa replied, "With Lucius gone, things are starting to slot into place again. I do appear to have gained a second son though."

Alice smiled, "I think he needs a Motherly figure in his life. It wouldn't be good for him, growing up with three men."

"I was thinking something similar," Narcissa admitted.

"Have the nightmares stopped?" Alice asked, this was an informal care meeting after all. Narcissa was grateful that it was also the last of these meetings, although she had come to view Alice as a friend.

"Not entirely," Narcissa replied, "But I have been sleeping far better lately."

"Good," Alice said cheerfully, "And are your feelings towards Draco healthy enough?"

Narcissa sighed, "You always ask that question Alice. How many times do I have to say that I don't resent him for what his Father did?"

"I know that it is always your reply," Alice said, "But I can understand if you find it difficult to love him at times due to the nature of his conception."

"Lucius caused me a lot of pain," Narcissa said, looking down at the boys in the pushchair, "But I don't resent him for giving me the one little ray of joy in my life. Maybe I should, maybe it would be healthy of me to do so but I don't."

"That's a very mature outlook," Alice noted.

Narcissa nodded thoughtfully. The two boys began to pretend to duel each other in the pushchair.

Alice chuckled, "You bought them toy wands?"

Narcissa smiled, "I've had Harry all day. I took the two boys to Diagon Alley this afternoon for a bit of a change of scenery. I gather Regulus and Remus needed a break, Harry and Sirius have been having separation issues."

"That explains why Sirius has looked so glum all day," Alice laughed.

Narcissa chuckled, "Speaking of Sirius, I ought to get Harry back to him. Are we finished here?"

"We're finished," Alice promised, "I'm going to sign you off because I think you're perfectly healthy. I have no further concerns for follow up meetings but-"

"If I ever need you, I will get in contact," Narcissa promised before Alice could finish.

Alice smiled, "That is very good to hear."

Narcissa smiled back at her, "Thank you for everything that you have done, Alice."

"Don't thank me Narcissa," Alice said, "It has been my pleasure."

* * *

Sirius Black was more than a little bit of a mess as he tried to find Remus Lupin, for all he knew the man's letter could have meant anything, he didn't know where Remus was or how long he was going to be gone for and the thought of raising Harry without Remus was horrible.

Sirius felt like he was running around like a headless chicken trying to find the man, he'd had no success at the shrieking shack, The Leaky Cauldron, The Hogs Head or The Three Broomsticks. Sirius then checked the flat that he and Remus had shared before Lily and James's death, going back there felt strange, it felt like a lifetime ago they have lived here, a different lifetime, a lifetime when Lily and James had been alive and happy and everything had been normal. Sirius sighed as he looked around the place; it was exactly as he'd left it on that fateful Saturday night. Sirius found some small comfort at the flat; he found some of Remus's things which had previously been at Potter Manor which meant that he'd been here recently.

With some hope Sirius checked all the bars in the area but couldn't find Remus anywhere, he began to give up again until he had a brainwave. The graveyard. He apparated to Godric's Hollow and ran through the kissing gate into the quiet little graveyard.

Just as he got his breath back it began to snow. Sirius jogged up the little hill and saw Remus, kneeling on the hard ground in front of James and Lily's graves.

"I've been looking for you for hours," Sirius said quietly causing Remus to jump.

He stood up to look at Sirius, "I'm sorry, I'm just so scared of hurting Harry when I transform."

"When you..." Sirius trailed off, "Wait...You were only planning on being gone a few days?"

Remus frowned, "Yes, I was going to come back on Thursday, what did you think I meant?"

Sirius laughed with relief, "Merlin Remus I'm relieved," he sighed as he pulled the man into a tight hug, "When I read that letter I thought you meant you were leaving indefinitely."

Remus realised why he had been so worried now and his eyes widened. He hugged Sirius back and murmured, "Oh. I'm sorry; I probably should have worded that letter better."

The two men began to walk out of the graveyard together, subconsciously joining hands as they did so.

"Yeah, that might have helped," Sirius said, "But on the bright side, I've had a hell of a work out today."

Remus chuckled at the comment, "I'm sorry, I bet I was in the last place you looked too."

"Tell me about it," Sirius said as the couple reached the square where the church stood, the church Lily and James's wedding and funeral had been in.

"Have you seen the monument for Lily and James?" Remus asked quietly as the snow began to come down faster, Sirius shook his head and turned to where Remus was pointing. He felt a lump in his throat when he saw the statue of Lily and James holding a baby Harry, it was incredibly sad.

"Do you want to go home for the night?" Sirius asked.

"Yes," Remus confessed, but neither of them took their eyes off of the statue as they apparated out of the square.

* * *

"Uh hi. It's me, Regulus, from the funeral," Regulus said into the flames. He had finally gotten up the courage to floo Marlene but she hadn't been in so he was now left to leave this incredibly awkward message.

"I know we agreed to meet up but I forgot to tell you that I'm…well I'm kind of under house arrest. Well, not kind of, I actually am, under house arrest that is," Regulus ran his hand through his hair, "So I can't leave without Sirius which means he would have to come with us and I got the impression you think he's an arsehole and _I_ definitely think he's an arsehole so that's…. well, it's a bad idea."

He exhaled a breath and finished, "So the only other option I have is to invite you here, because you know…I can't leave here. Sirius would be here but I think Remus would maybe be able to control him and keep him out of the way so that would be beneficial. Oh and you would have to be okay with babies because Harry lives here, obviously."

The front door clicked open, signifying the return of Sirius and Remus. Regulus rushed to finish the floo call before they could find out what he had been doing, "Um…anyway, I hope that sounds okay to you so…um…floo me back and let me know if you do want to come over with the time – oh and the day too, of course. Anytime is okay for me obviously because I'm stuck here…all day, every day. Right, well I'll be going now, bye."

The floo cut out and Regulus let his head fall into his hands, that had been terrible.

"Smooth," Sirius said, smirking in the doorway of the kitchen.

"Yeah, we need to help you before your date," Remus agreed.

"What date?" Regulus asked irritably, "She isn't going to want to go on one with me after that."

"She'll probably find you bumbling but endearing," Sirius said, an amused smile playing on his lips, "Like I did with Remus."

"Bumbling but endearing," Remus mused, "Thanks, Sirius."

"Anyway, there's no point in hanging around here waiting for a reply," Remus said, "Marlene is probably out and-"

The fire behind them roared and turned green. A voice said, "Marlene McKinnon."

"Get out," Regulus said, shoving them towards the door.

"But we want to hear how it goes!" Sirius exclaimed.

"Out!" Regulus said, slamming the door on their faces and returning to the fire. He took a breath to steady himself and accepted the floo call.

Marlene's smiling face appeared in the flames, "Nice message, I nearly got to the floo in time but I was gardening, sorry."

Regulus's cheeks flushed, "So you were sitting listening to that whole thing?"

Marlene grinned, "Yes, I was. You _really_ know how to express yourself," she said sarcastically.

Regulus ran his hands through his hair again, "It has never exactly been my strong point and as I told you, I did spend the last 2 years with only a house elf for company."

"I was just teasing," Marlene said with a kind smile, "That whole house arrest thing is a bummer though, isn't it?"

"It isn't too bad," Regulus lied, "I can leave for an hour unsupervised but after that I need to have Sirius with me."

"Yeah, you are _so_ not bringing him on our date by the way," Marlene said matter of factly.

Regulus's eyes lit up, "So you're coming here?"

"Yep, 7.30pm on Saturday," Marlene decided.

Regulus smiled, "Sounds great."

Marlene opened her mouth to say something else but then spotted something over Regulus's shoulder. She glared and said, "And just because you're under house arrest doesn't mean people are allowed to listen in on your conversations. Bugger off Black."

Regulus spun around and saw Sirius sheepishly emerge from a nook in the wall.

"Seriously Sirius?" Regulus asked irritably.

"Well I just had to see how my old flame was getting on," Sirius joked.

Marlene rolled her eyes, "Black, we were never even a spark. Has it crossed your mind that some women prefer a man she can talk to, to an arrogant pig who spends his days staring at her chest?"

Sirius grinned, "Well Marlene, you did have a wonderful-"

"Shut up!" Marlene and Regulus chorused.

Sirius rolled his eyes and slunk out of the room. Marlene shook her head and looked at Regulus, "How could Hogwarts most womanising fool go from _that_ to being completely in love with our resident werewolf?"

Regulus laughed, "The phrase Alice and Frank use is Remus-sexual."

Marlene snorted, " _That's_ accurate, see you on Saturday Regulus."

"See you on Saturday," Regulus agreed, beaming from ear to ear as the floo disconnected.

* * *

"How was Harry today?" Sirius asked in a whisper as he looked into the nursery.

Remus sighed, "Not great, honestly."

Sirius frowned at his other half, "What do you mean?"

"He cried, all day," Remus admitted, "I took him to Molly's but the moment I got back here, Velda appeared and it woke him up. He started crying again and I put him down to sleep, hoping eventually he would just cry himself out. After that Regulus took him to Narcissa's and she offered to keep him for the rest of the day. She brought him home just before you and I got home, according to Regulus."

Sirius sighed, "Maybe I should quit…"

"You can't," Remus reminded him, "I can't find a job and Regulus isn't allowed to work. How would we support Harry if you quit?"

"I have a meeting at the bank tomorrow," Sirius admitted, "About James and Lily's accounts. As Harry's Godfather, I'm in charge of the finances until he turns 17. There is a lot of money in those accounts Remus."

"And it's Harry money," Remus reminded him.

"I don't want to spend it on extravagant things for myself," Sirius said, "I want to spend it on Harry, I don't earn that much as an Auror anyway. My wages aren't enough to cover everything."

"I'm sorry," Remus sighed.

"It isn't a jibe," Sirius promised him, "It's not your fault our government is a corrupt heap of shit that views werewolves in the same light as they view muggles and squibs."

"I wish I could help though," Remus frowned, "I can't even help with Harry…he's a baby and it's hard work, Sirius. That's why I've been thinking…"

Sirius frowned at him and stepped into their bedroom across the hall. Remus followed him and shut the door so that they could talk freely without waking Harry from his sleep, "You better not say you've been thinking of sending him away."

"No," Remus said, aghast at the thought, "I've been wondering if we should invite Narcissa and Draco to live in Potter Manor with us. Narcissa is selling Malfoy Manor and she has nowhere to go, and _we_ need her to help us with Harry. Apart from you, she's the only one who can stop him crying, get him to eat and put him to sleep."

Sirius sighed, "That's a big ask Remus. I'm only just beginning to have a relationship with her after so many years…I'm not sure I trust her."

"Think of how many times she's helped us out when we've been in a tough spot," Remus pointed out, "Every single time, Harry has come back happy and healthy. Look at how much she loves her own little boy, look at how close Harry and Draco are becoming. I think it would be good, for all of us."

Sirius still looked unsure as he walked to the window and looked out at the sunset.

"Think about everything Lucius put her through," Remus said quietly, "Why would she feel any sense of love or loyalty to him? She was never a Death Eater, she was just forced into that life by her parents. Surely you understand that? If you hadn't run away you would have been married off too, to someone you could never love."

"I know, Remus," Sirius said in a quiet voice, "It's just that…I trust you completely and as much as I say I can't forgive Regulus…he's my baby brother."

"I know," Remus said softly, moving towards the window and wrapping his arms around Sirius.

The dark haired man sighed, "I don't know Narcissa that well and…we were just betrayed by someone we thought we could trust. It's going to take me a while to learn to trust again Remus, I can't handle the thought of being betrayed again…of someone taking you away from me."

Remus tightened his grip on Sirius and murmured, "That's never going to happen, I promise."

Sirius closed his eyes and sighed contently, praying that Remus was right.

 **TBC.**


	8. Part 1 - Chapter 8

A Moment in Time  


 **8**

"Good Afternoon."

Even Sirius Black, as clueless as he was about women and their feelings, could see that his cousin was nervous the moment she appeared on the doorstep and uttered those words. She looked paler than usual, her hair was immaculate as if she had tried very hard to look good and she was wearing newly washed and ironed robes.

"Afternoon," Sirius said happily as he let her into the house. He had asked Frank nicely to cover for him for that afternoon so that he could keep an eye on Harry and Draco while Narcissa went to the Ministry to legalise her divorce. Sirius had given Remus his authority to supervise Regulus so that his brother could be Narcissa's witness and moral support.

"Has he had lunch?" Sirius asked as he led Narcissa into the dining room where he was in the process of feeding Harry who was still a little huffy and had thrown most of his sandwich onto the floor.

"HAWWY!" Draco shouted as he tried to wriggle out of his Mother's arms.

"No," Narcissa answered with a small smile at her son's eagerness to see Harry, "I didn't have time, I'm sorry."

"Don't worry about it," Sirius said as he magically extended Harry's high chair and put Draco next to him in it, "Does he have any allergies?"

"No," Narcissa replied, "He won't touch tomatoes but that's just because he's a picky little pain in the bum."

Sirius chuckled, "No worries. Will you be okay today?"

"I hope so," Narcissa said with a weak smile, "It won't be easy of course, but it is a comfort to have Regulus with me. He is fast becoming like the brother I never had, you both are."

Sirius smiled at her, "Well, I always wanted an older sister."

Narcissa's smile was far more genuine after this comment, "Thank you, the meeting should only take an hour or so. If it does run over, would you mind giving Draco his dinner?"

"Of course not," Sirius replied.

Narcissa nodded absentmindedly and glanced worriedly at the clock on the wall. Sirius smiled in an encouraging way, "You better get off, good luck."

Narcissa thanked her cousin again and stepped out of the house into the gardens. Regulus and Remus were waiting for her by the gate. When she reached them Regulus offered his arm to his older cousin and she gratefully accepted it.

"Don't worry Cissa," Regulus said softly, "You have me and my bodyguard to protect you."

Remus chuckled and nodded, "Everything will be fine," he promised the woman.

Narcissa smiled gratefully at them both as they apparated to the Ministry.

* * *

Sirius had a lot of fun looking after Harry and Draco that afternoon. After the two boys had finished throwing their lunch at each other, he took them upstairs to the nursery where all of Harry's toys were.

He left them to play and set up a proximity charm on the nursery so that he would be alerted if either child cried or left the room. He was on the same floor as the nursery, but he was in the west wing assessing the area. It had suffered some flood damage during the war while the house had been unoccupied which was why they only used the east wing on the top floor.

His wand buzzed as he tentatively prodded a damp wall in one of the smaller bedrooms. He took it from his pocket and heard a loud wail that he knew belonged to Harry. Sirius darted along the corridor and skidded into the nursery where Harry and Draco had clearly had an accident.

It looked like they had been fighting to get onto the rocking horse. As a result, both of them had fallen off of it. Harry was screaming loudly and was nursing a tiny cut to the chin but Draco was sitting quietly, nursing a bump on the head that was bleeding slightly.

Sirius, being an Auror, didn't panic in such situations. He performed numbing charms on both children and picked Harry up to quieten him down. It only took a second to heal the little cut on Harry's chin. Harry watched the wand with fascination as it moved around and emitted a soft golden light. Sirius smiled at his fascination as he checked the inside of Harry's mouth to make sure that he hadn't bitten his tongue when he fell.

After that he put Harry down and the boy wailed in protest. Sirius ignored him and lifted Draco up, frowning when the little boy flinched.

"Hey," Sirius said softly, "I just want to have a little look at that bump on your head."

Draco looked up at him with wary grey eyes. Sirius gently ran his fingers over the bump and Draco flinched again.

Sirius sighed sadly, "Just a little bump," he said, more to himself than to the baby. He ran his wand over the area and healed it in no time, just as he had done with Harry. Draco didn't seem fascinated with the golden light of the wand, he just kept his head down and remained silent as if this was something that he had seen several times before.

Sirius frowned and cast a quiet charm on the boy. He knew it was an invasion of privacy and he also knew he shouldn't be abusing a charm he had learned in his work as an Auror, but he was curious. The spell worked like priori incantatem but it showed the spells that had been used on a person rather than the spells that a wand had used.

The first few were fairly standard spells, ones Sirius used on Harry all of the time. Cleaning charms or banishing charms, the type of spells that came in very handy with a young child who had a habit of throwing food everywhere. After that though the spells were just healing charm upon healing charm.

Sirius slipped his wand back into his pocket and walked towards the window, shaking his head angrily, "Bastard," he muttered.

Neither of the boys heard him because Harry was still wailing pathetically. Sirius had to control his temper as he realised that Lucius had not just terrorised his cousin, he had terrorised their baby boy too. He could not comprehend how any man could do such a thing to their child, he loved Harry too much to even think about hurting him and he wasn't even the little boy's Father.

* * *

"Are you ready?" Regulus mumbled as he, Narcissa and Remus walked through the atrium.

"I think so," Narcissa replied nervously.

She took a deep breath and nodded to Regulus who smiled proudly at her. He was extremely proud of her for doing this, particularly so soon after Lucius's arrest. The trio walked in silence to the lifts and eventually reached them. At that moment Narcissa had never felt so judged in her entire life. As she and Regulus stood in the busy lift together, with Remus hovering behind them, all conversation stopped and everyone looked at them in shock and disgust.

Narcissa swallowed hard and looked down to hide her red cheeks. Regulus, feeling sorry for his cousin, cleared his throat and said, "Don't worry Narcissa, they're all staring at the ex-Death Eater who saved the boy-who-lived. Who wouldn't be interested in me?"

There were some scoffs and looks of disgust, but Narcissa was smiling and that was why Regulus had done it. Remus smiled quietly to himself as he observed the cousins and realised, for the first time, that Regulus was more like his brother than he had given him credit for.

The lift stopped at level 2 and Narcissa, Regulus and Remus left. Narcissa had never felt more relieved, "That was horrible," she whispered as they made their way to the Administrative Registration Office where births, deaths, marriages and divorces were all recorded.

"It's disgusting," Regulus said in an angry undertone, "You were forced into a marriage with a monster, you were the victim. People who don't know you have no right to judge you like that."

"Thank you Regulus," Narcissa said feeling a little lighter; it was nice to having someone who was on her side for a change. None of them had a chance to say anything more as they reached the waiting room where Alice Longbottom greeted them with a smile, "Good Afternoon Narcissa. I see you have your witness and his bodyguard with you. Was Sirius not available for duty today?"

Remus laughed, "Sirius is babysitting the actual babies, which leaves me to babysit Regulus."

Narcissa smiled, "It is a comfort though, having you both here."

Regulus squeezed her hand as Alice asked, "Are you ready then, Narcissa?"

Narcissa nodded at the Auror, "As ready as I will ever be."

Alice smiled, "That's understandable, shall we go in then?"

Narcissa nodded again and she and Regulus followed Alice into the small office while Remus took a seat in the waiting room. Inside the office a short, fat man with a handlebar moustache was awaiting them. He nodded as a greeting and Alice told Narcissa and Regulus to sit down in front of the desk, she pulled a chair over and sat down next to Narcissa.

"This is Narcissa Elladora Black Malfoy," Alice said to the man, "She applied for a divorce to her Husband Lucius Abraxas Malfoy under exceptional circumstances. Regulus Arcturus Black is here as witness."

The short fat man consulted the paper on his desk and nodded, "What are the exceptional circumstances?" He asked, sounding bored and tired.

"Abuse," Alice said simply and Narcissa looked down to where her hands were clasped in front of her with a frown.

"I'm afraid you'll need to be more specific Auror Longbottom," The man said without looking up from the paper on his desk.

Alice gave Narcissa an apologetic look, "Physical abuse to both my client and her son who ranged in age from 6 months to 1 year at the time of the violence," she handed the man pictures which Regulus couldn't see. The man looked at them and nodded, Regulus felt sickened; he hadn't known that Lucius had hit Draco too but it explained why Draco rarely cried when Harry hit him with a toy or threw something at him.

"And sexual abuse," Alice said, noticing that Narcissa was crying and feeling extremely sorry for her. Regulus reached his hand over and offered it to Narcissa who took it gladly.

"Can you prove this?" The man asked, looking from Alice to Narcissa who still wouldn't look up.

Alice frowned, "Not without a Legilimency test," she admitted, "But surely the physical abuse and the fact that the man was a Death Eater is enough to legalise the divorce."

The man did look like he felt bad about this, "I am truly sorry Auror Longbottom but the marriage bond is in blood which only happens in pureblood cases. A blood bond is much trickier to break, the circumstances really must be exceptional."

Alice sighed, "Narcissa, do you object to a Legilimency test?" she asked, "It will invade your thoughts and pull out a few memories of the abuse, it will take under 5 minutes and we can give you a potion so that you don't have to relive the memories," she explained to the distraught woman.

Narcissa looked up for the first time with red, wet eyes. She cleared her throat, "I'll do anything to divorce him."

The man handed her a sheet of paper and said, "If you would just sign here, and if you would sign underneath Mr. Black."

Narcissa signed the paper after quickly reading through it. Regulus did the same and the man asked them to wait while he went and got the Legilimency specialist.

"Are you okay Narcissa?" Regulus asked quietly.

Narcissa nodded, "I just wish it was enough without this," she admitted as she let some more tears spill out, "I'm so ashamed about it; I hoped that no one would ever have to know or see it except me."

"It will be okay Narcissa," Regulus assured her, "It's all confidential, no one can talk about it, the only people who will know are the people in this room."

"Do you know what they are going to do to find the memory Regulus?" Narcissa asked anxiously.

"They only need to see 3 memories to verify the abuse," Regulus explained, he doubted that his cousin knew but Regulus had wanted to go into the DMLE as a lawyer before he messed up his prospects by joining the Death Eaters. He continued, "So what they are going to do if you choose not to take the potion is ask you to think about the 3 times it was at its worse, they will then view the memory and store it in a vial for the records in the rare case that Lucius gets out of Azkaban and decides to try the case again in court."

Narcissa looked anxious but Alice calmed her, "But that almost never happens. No one gets out of Azkaban on good behaviour and Lucius is most definitely guilty."

"What happens if I chose to take the potion?" Narcissa asked Regulus hoping for a slightly better answer, but she didn't get it.

Regulus sighed, "Well, if you take the potion you don't have to experience the memories again but the specialist needs to look through more of your memories to find the ones that show the abuse so your memories are invaded more and it does take a bit longer."

Narcissa nodded, she looked extremely worried and Regulus really couldn't blame her, "But whatever you chose, I promise I won't let go of your hand."

"Thank you," Narcissa said in a quiet, broken voice as the specialist entered the room. He was a thin older man with greying hair and a friendly face.

The fat man took his seat across the desk again and the specialist pulled a chair over next to Alice so that he could face Narcissa, "Good Afternoon Madame, my name is Mr. Binford," he greeted, "I'm sorry to cut straight to the chase but have you decided if you would like to use the potion or not?"

Narcissa answered shakily, "I wouldn't like to use the potion."

"That's great. We can start as soon as you're ready then," Binford said.

Narcissa closed her eyes, took a deep breath and squeezed Regulus's hand, "I'm ready," she said.

Binford raised his wand and cast the spell. Narcissa could immediately feel his presence intruding in her head. He spoke, but not out loud, only in her head, "Think of one of the worst examples of the abuse for me please," the voice echoed around her head as she thought hard about the first time it had ever happened, just after she and Lucius were married.

 _Narcissa was 18, only just out of Hogwarts and immediately married off to Lucius. The man had appeared charming at first but Narcissa soon realised who he really was._

 _The door opened and Lucius came in, he was in an extremely bad mood and he threw his cloak onto the sofa, "Salazar, work was horrendous today," he said as he came into the living room where Narcissa was standing and kissed her hard on the lips._

 _Narcissa pushed him away but Lucius only rolled his eyes, "Don't you dare push me away. I'm your Husband," he said dangerously._

 _Fear flitted through Narcissa's eyes, making Lucius smirk, "Are you scared of me Cissy?"_

 _Narcissa did not answer, she just took a step back._

 _Lucius chuckled and said, "Good, you should be."_

 _He then pushed her onto the sofa and began to tear at her clothes while she silently put up with the abuse and cried, of course the crying only spurred Lucius on more, he liked to hurt and upset people, he liked to cause pain._

Thankfully the memory faded and blurred and she didn't need to watch anymore. As it ended she took a breath of air and it felt like her lungs were refilling, she became aware of the tears streaming down her face as Binford put the memory in a vial and went back into her head again. He told her to think of another memory, so she did, hoping beyond hope that she wouldn't need to relive the entire memory.

 _Narcissa had been putting up with the abuse for years by this point so when Lucius came home in a bad mood and 'demanded' her she didn't refuse anymore. She by no means ever enjoyed it, she never spoke or made a sound but she had been the victim of his attacks so many times that she learned silence was the best way._

 _So he walked over to her and told her to go to the bedroom and she did as he said. He followed and undressed and then began his attack on her yet again, as he did every week._

Thankfully the memory began to fade and Narcissa could breathe a sigh of relief again, that memory wasn't the worst but it was a horrible one for the reason that the attack in that memory had been the one in which Draco was conceived, she had hoped after that things would get better but they hadn't. It had stopped briefly while Narcissa had been pregnant but then it had started again. Before Narcissa had sufficient time to recover, Binford was in her head for the 3rd and final time asking to see the last memory.

 _Narcissa was playing with her 7-month old son when her Husband came home from work in a foul mood._

" _I am so sick of the ministry!" Lucius shouted as he threw his cane down on the floor alarming Draco and causing him to cry._

" _Lucius, you've upset Draco," Narcissa said angrily._

" _I don't fucking care if I've upset him!" Lucius said as he pushed Draco out of the way, "He's just a stupid little baby!"_

" _Shut up Lucius," Narcissa hissed, "You can treat me as badly as you want but don't you dare hurt Draco or talk about him that way!"_

" _He's my son!" Lucius shouted, "I'll treat him however the hell I want to!" he pushed Narcissa onto the couch, "You need to be shown a lesson," he hissed angrily at her and for the first time in a long time she cried._

" _No, not in front of Draco, please Lucius, don't." Narcissa begged._

 _Lucius only sneered, "He's a baby, what does he know?" he merely said as Draco cried on the floor behind them._

" _No!" Narcissa shouted, finding the strength to push him off her and knock him to the floor. He lunged for her but she dove out of reach and grabbed Draco. Before he had gotten to his feet she safely deposited her son in his cot. She had barely managed to take a breath before Lucius grabbed her and dragged her out of the nursery._

When the 3rd memory ended Narcissa broke down and fell into Regulus's arms. He pulled her close and whispered to her that she would be okay.

Binford handed Regulus a potion, "It should calm her down," he explained, "I understand how difficult this must be but it has provided us with enough evidence to legalise the divorce."

Regulus nodded and thanked the man as he left the office with the vials after signing something for the fat man. Regulus handed Narcissa the potion and she shakily took it. After a few minutes she seemed back to normal, but still understandably shaken.

"Good news Miss Black," The fat man said as he smiled for the first time at her. He gave her some papers to sign to legalise the divorce for good and after she had signed, Regulus signed as her witness.

"Is it possible to legalise the change of my son's name?" Narcissa asked, now that she was calm and able to think straight.

"It would usually take another week or so to get the papers." The fat man admitted, "But since you're here anyway and…given your exceptional circumstances, you can do it by signing this form."

He raked in a filing cupboard and withdrew a form. He handed it to Narcissa and said, "Just write his name as it is now on the top line and what you'd like it to be changed to on the bottom line then sign down here please."

Narcissa nodded, she took a deep breath and wrote on the top line, _"Draco Lucius Abraxas Malfoy"_ and then on the bottom line without even thinking about it she wrote _"Draco Regulus Black"._

Narcissa then signed at the bottom and Regulus couldn't believe his eyes when he glanced at the form to sign as a witness. He actually felt a little teary eyed as he signed his name below Narcissa's and handed the form back to the man.

"Congratulations Miss Black," he said, "The forms will go through the system within a week and you will receive a confirmation owl, but your divorce is now officially legalised."

"Thank you," Narcissa said, feeling as if a weight had been lifted from her shoulders as she stood from the chair and left the office.

"Well done Narcissa," Alice said kindly, handing her a piece of parchment, "You know that I'm always here if you need me, right?"

Narcissa nodded, "Thank you Alice."

Alice smiled and took her leave. Remus looked at Narcissa's pale face and shaky form and glanced sympathetically at her. Regulus put his arm around his cousin and mumbled, "Let's get out of here, Cissa."

The three of them left the ministry in silence and apparated to Potter Manor. They didn't talk as they made their way up the path to the Manor or as Regulus opened the door and called out to Sirius who didn't answer.

Remus frowned and walked through the house with Narcissa and Regulus on his tail. They stepped out of the back door into the garden where Narcissa was surprised to see a Quidditch Pitch, Potter Manor was extremely grand. Remus muttered something as he made his way over to the Quidditch pitch where Sirius was flying in circles around two babies on small toy broomsticks.

Regulus bit back an amused smile as Remus opened his mouth to shout at Sirius, but the words came out in the voice of Narcissa, "SIRIUS ORION BLACK! GET DOWN HERE NOW!"

Sirius looked down and gulped. The broomsticks that the kids were on only hovered 1 metre above the ground but for two one and a half year olds that was still rather high. The supposedly brave Gryffindor flew down to the ground and gracefully dismounted his broomstick, "Oh hey Narcissa, you're back early," he said, trying to sound casual.

"Sirius?"

"Yes?"

"Why is my son on a broomstick?" Narcissa asked as she stood with her hands on her hips, looking extremely strict.

Regulus snorted in amusement, seeing his brother being told off by their older cousin was thoroughly amusing to him.

"Well," Sirius began, and Regulus could tell this story was going to be drawn out, "I needed to go into Diagon Alley to get some money from Gringotts for the shopping because the elves are hungover from this massive party they had last night, you should've seen it, elf puke everywhere, not a nice sight," he shook his head, "So I was on my way back up the alley and I happened to have some extra money so I went into 'Quality Quidditch Supplies' to look at some books and brooms and I just happened to see this beginner broom and I thought it looked perfect for Harry and he was like, 'Uncle Siri can I get that broom?' and I couldn't say no so I thought oh what the heck, and then Draco got all sad so I thought I'd better get him one too so I bought two brooms and then we came back here and Draco just like asked, 'Can we go to the Quidditch pitch?' and you know he's so cute when he says stuff like that so I said 'Oh, alright then' and we came out here to fly," Sirius finished, looking incredibly sheepish.

"That's a nice story Sirius," Regulus smirked, "But the house elves don't get drunk and have parties."

"They could do," Sirius objected, "Have you seen Kreacher these days? He's a complete party animal."

Narcissa narrowed her eyes at her cousin, "There is another glaring problem with your story."

"Really? What's that?" Sirius asked, still looking very scared.

"Harry and Draco can't talk properly yet," Narcissa said, raising an eyebrow at the Gryffindor.

Sirius groaned, "Okay fine! I bought them brooms! But they had a really good time and I've got a cushioning charm on the ground. I've been keeping a really close eye on them, I swear."

Narcissa narrowed her eyes at him and glanced over at the boys, "They do seem happy enough," she reasoned.

"See, I told you they were fine," Sirius said, "And watch this!" He released the snitch he had been holding his hand and as it flew around the boys heads Harry reached out and caught it expertly.

"Impressive," Regulus commented.

Sirius grinned, "Definitely going to be Gryffindor seeker," he said proudly.

"Gryffindor?" Regulus asked, raising his eyebrow at the man yet again, "How do you know he will be in Gryffindor?"

"How can he not be, his parents were both Gryffindors and Remus and I are raising him, what else can he be?"

"A Slytherin!" Narcissa and Regulus said at the same time, sharing an amused look.

"No way!" Sirius objected, "If Harry becomes a Slytherin I'll eat a Hippogriff."

"I'll remember that one if Harry gets sorted into Slytherin," Regulus said as he lifted Draco off of his broomstick and handed him to Narcissa.

"Well, that will never happen," Sirius said stubbornly as he lifted Harry from his broomstick. The foursome and the two babies headed back into the house after Sirius had put the brooms away in the shed.

"How do you know that?" Remus asked, "It doesn't always matter who you are raised by, look at you."

"All of our family were in Slytherin, yet you became a Gryffindor," Narcissa agreed with a smirk, "Harry could well be a Slytherin. He might even be a Ravenclaw if he takes after Remus."

"Thanks Narcissa," Sirius said sarcastically as Remus chortled beside him.

Regulus snorted in amusement and Sirius continued, "And Ravenclaw I can handle. Slytherin I can come to terms with eventually, but he better not become a Hufflepuff."

Narcissa rolled her eyes at that comment, "There is no shame in being a Hufflepuff."

Sirius ignored her and continued, "I mean Ravenclaws are clever, Gryffindors are brave and Slytherins are cunning, he could do well with any of those traits, but what are Hufflepuffs? Loyal? Hah, look where that got Peter!"

Remus rolled his eyes, "Peter was a Gryffindor. It won't matter where Harry is, even if that is Hufflepuff. Some of the kindest, bravest people I know were in Hufflepuff."

Sirius looked thoughtful, "Well I'll still love him whatever house he's in but I am rooting for Gryffindor."

"Of course you are," Regulus remarked as the foursome reached the house.

A crack alerted them all as Velda appeared and asked, "Would Masters and their guest like some tea?"

Regulus turned to his cousin, "Stay for tea, Narcissa?"

"That sounds lovely," Narcissa admitted.

Velda disappeared and the group migrated to the sitting room. Harry and Draco were put down in the playpen, which had now been magic-proofed, and the adults sat down in armchairs around the fire.

"How was the meeting?" Sirius asked, somewhat tentatively.

"Horrible but productive," Narcissa answered honestly, "The divorce is legalised, Draco and I are now Black's."

"Is his middle name still Lucius?" Remus asked curiously.

"No," Narcissa replied, "He is Draco Regulus Black now, after his Godfather."

Regulus's eyes widened, "Godfather?"

Narcissa smiled slightly, "Draco never had Godparents when he was born because we always assumed that family would care for him if anything were to happen to myself or Lucius. Now that it is just me and I am estranged from most of my family, I want care of him to go to the right sort of family."

Regulus smiled at her, trying not to cry like he almost had earlier, "I am really honoured, Narcissa."

"What am I though?" Sirius objected, "The next door neighbour?"

Narcissa chuckled, "I feel a certain affinity towards Regulus due to the life we were both forced into. That is not to say that I do not care about you however, Sirius."

"Just not as much," Sirius joked.

"Sirius," Remus said, nudging his boyfriend in the ribs.

"I'm just kidding, Remus."

Narcissa and Regulus shared a vaguely amused glance while the two men began to bicker, "I am sorry that I didn't tell you at the Ministry," she mumbled to Regulus.

Regulus shook his head, "It's fine and I really am honoured, I mean that."

Before Narcissa could say anymore their tea arrived and Sirius, trying to be cryptic, said, "Oh I forgot, I wanted to show you something in the drawing room. Do you have a minute, Narcissa?"

Narcissa got to her feet, "Of course," she said, following Sirius out of the room and up the staircase.

They stepped into the drawing room and she raised an eyebrow at him, "You don't have anything to show me, do you?"

"No," Sirius admitted sheepishly, "But I did want to talk to you, alone."

Narcissa surveyed him carefully, "It must be about a difficult subject, otherwise you would not feel unable to discuss it in front of Remus and your brother."

"I just don't think you would want it discussed with everyone around," Sirius admitted, "It's just that there was a small incident this afternoon. Harry and Draco, being boys, fought to get on the rocking horse and they both fell off. I couldn't help but notice that Harry started crying as you would expect from a toddler who had hurt themselves but Draco sat with his head down, as if he expected to be punished for hurting himself."

Narcissa swallowed a lump in her throat and nodded, "That is because he is used to seeing me get punished by his Father for the smallest things, like falling over in the garden and catching myself on a rose bush for instance."

Sirius frowned down at the ground, "He isn't unfamiliar with the healing charm either, is he? Harry followed the golden light, as a baby would do, but Draco seemed uninterested."

"He has never been seriously hurt," Narcissa said defensively, "I have spent the last year and a half protecting him, taking the blows _for_ him. I would never let Lucius put his life in jeopardy if _that_ is what you are suggesting! The charms were to heal small bruises and cuts, nothing more."

"Narcissa-"

"If you are trying to say that I am unfit to be a Mother then why have you been allowing me to look after Harry in these past weeks?" Narcissa continued, "Am I just convenient until you can find someone better?"

"No," Sirius said sharply, "Quite the opposite. If I thought you were a bad Mother I wouldn't have brought you up here to invite you to live in the Manor to help us with Harry and I certainly wouldn't have spent the entire afternoon making floo calls to see how quickly I can get the west wing of the house fixed up for you!"

Narcissa looked taken aback, "Can you repeat that?"

Sirius smiled slightly, "Remus and I have been discussing it, we know that you need somewhere to stay because you're selling Malfoy Manor. This house is far too big for us and you know that Remus and Regulus are struggling to look after Harry alone. I thought this way you would have a roof over your head, Harry and Draco would be together and I would be able to work without feeling guilty. You can negotiate whatever you want, we would pay you of course and-"

"Sirius," Narcissa cut in, her voice breaking slightly, "I do not want any form of money from you. I am just honoured that you would ask me to take on such an important role in Harry's life and that you trust me enough to invite me to live here."

"You would be doing us a huge favour," Sirius said honestly, "Because even if Harry gets used to Regulus, and I know he will, what will we do when Regulus moves out and goes back to work? I suppose we just…we never realised quite how hard it would be to raise a child."

"You never do until you have one," Narcissa smiled, "But I would be honoured to help out, truly."

Sirius hooked his arm through hers and said, "I suppose we should inform the rest of the household then."

Narcissa chuckled and walked down the stairs with her cousin. When they stepped into the sitting room, arm in arm, Remus and Regulus both looked a little suspicious.

"Is everything okay?" Remus asked.

Sirius nodded, "Just fine. Have you met our new nanny, Narcissa?"

Regulus raised an eyebrow, "Nanny?"

"If you are giving me a title I would much prefer governess," Narcissa said, shooting Sirius an amused look.

Remus smiled at his boyfriend, "So you gave her the job then?"

"I offered it and Narcissa accepted," Sirius said gratefully, "Once Malfoy Manor is sold, Narcissa and Draco are going to move into the west wing so that Narcissa can help with Harry during the day."

"That's excellent, thank you so much Narcissa," Remus said, just as gratefully as Sirius had spoken earlier.

Regulus nodded, "It will be a huge help, three 20-something men trying to raise a baby is proving to be an absoloute nightmare."

Narcissa laughed lightly, "In the meantime, I can watch Harry at Malfoy Manor if you drop him off in the morning Sirius."

Sirius nodded, "That would be great, oh and I have a job for you two."

Remus and Regulus narrowed their eyes at Sirius, "What?" they asked in unison.

"Get the west wing ready so Narcissa can move in," Sirius smirked, "There's a bit of flood damage so there is a lot of repainting needing doing and a lot of the furniture will need replaced too."

"I have nothing better to do," Regulus admitted, "Since I am stuck on house arrest for the foreseeable future…"

"And I have no problem helping prepare the west wing for you Narcissa," Remus said with a kind smile.

Sirius clapped his hands together, "Excellent, then it's settled!"

 **TBC.**


	9. Part 1 - Chapter 9

A Moment in Time  


 **9**

It was Friday the 13th and things were not going well for Sirius Black. His new contracted hours were Monday to Thursday to accommodate looking after Harry. It meant he worked long days but he got to spend every weekend with his Godson and that made it worthwhile.

On this particular Friday, Remus was milling around the library reading books and Regulus was working hard on restoring the west wing. It had been a few days since Narcissa's visit to the Ministry and she was spending all of her time trying to find someone who wanted to buy Malfoy Manor.

Sirius made his way downstairs with Harry whistling a tune he had heard Remus sing sometimes. His morning started out quite like any other morning, he put Harry in his chair, got him his cereal and then, with his toast and coffee at the table, he made to sit down in his usual chair.

The moment his bottom touched the chair Sirius yelped in shock as the chair collapsed underneath him, "Shit!" he cursed loudly.

He then swore under his breath when Harry shouted, "Shit!" and clapped his hands, giggling at his Godfather, "Again!" he shouted.

Sirius got up, rubbing his back and said, "No Harry, not again."

Harry objected to his Godfathers refusal to entertain him and sulked, deciding to rebel by not eating any of his breakfast. Sirius didn't pander to this; he seemed to be the only one who could be strict when he needed to be.

Next Sirius dressed Harry in his mini Quidditch robes and made sure he was covered in padding. Once they were downstairs he put him down to let the little boy run outside to the Quidditch pitch with Sirius jogging behind him to keep up.

Once at the pitch Sirius grabbed Harry's junior broom from the shed and popped the little boy on it, transforming the ground into a large padded pillow as Harry started to zoom around and laugh like crazy.

Sirius grinned, "Wait for me Harry," he called as he jumped onto his own broomstick which sped right up into the air and started to do loops of its own accord.

Sirius shrieked like a girl as Harry laughed and shouted, "Funny Siri!"

"Not funny Harry!" Sirius shouted as the broom began to dive bomb towards the ground, Sirius decided his best option was to abort the mission. So when the broom neared the ground he let go of the handle and let himself fall onto the soft landing of the giant pillow.

"Again! Again!" Harry was shouting as Remus rushed out to the pitch, "What happened?" he asked, looking at Sirius lying on the pillow with his broom twitching next to him.

"I'm cursed!" Sirius exclaimed, jumping to his feet.

"What?" Remus asked, frowning at the man.

"It's Friday the 13th Remus!" Sirius said, "And this morning when I sat on my chair it collapsed, then my broom threw me off!"

Remus gave Sirius a small smile, "Don't be silly Sirius, curses don't exist."

"The ancient Egyptian ones do! I've seen the pyramids!" Sirius said, glancing up at Harry who was still flying in circles, now he had taken both hands off of the broom and was just using his legs.

"You think the ancient Egyptians have cursed you?" Remus asked in amusement, his eyes also on the cheeky little boy flying circles around them.

"It's a possibility!" Sirius said indignantly.

Remus laughed, "I highly doubt it, do you want me to watch Harry for a while so you can go have a nap?"

"I'm not going insane Remus," Sirius insisted with a glare.

Remus nodded sympathetically, tapping Sirius on the shoulder, "I know Sirius, but you were up with Harry last night, I think you might be a little paranoid."

"Remus I'm not paranoid!" Sirius said huffily, "Harry, come down here!" he called and a second later Harry was lying on the pillow.

"He hasn't mastered the art of flying down the way yet," Sirius explained as he picked Harry up and put the brooms away in the shed, "So he lands by letting go of the broom, he thinks it's fun."

Remus rolled his eyes in amusement as the 3 of them made their way back to the house, "Definitely a Gryffindor trait, it's scary how alike he is to James, isn't it?"

The melancholy mood that took over them when James or Lily was mentioned fell at once upon Remus's words. Sirius nodded, "Yeah, he reminds me of him a lot."

"Just remember, he isn't James," Remus said firmly, "You haven't got James back, Harry isn't him."

"I know," Sirius said darkly, "It doesn't mean I like it, but I know."

"Good," Remus said with a smile, "Are you sure you're okay to look after Harry?"

"I'm fine," Sirius insisted.

Remus nodded, "Well in that case I'm off to Hogwarts."

"Why?" Sirius asked suspiciously.

"To sleep with that old flame of mine clearly, I mean I haven't seen Severus in years," Remus said sarcastically but Sirius didn't laugh. He let out a low growl which sent shivers down Remus's spine, "It was a joke, Sirius."

"It wasn't a funny one," Sirius said irritably, "Is Snivellus still working up there?"

"So I hear," Remus replied, "Do you still despise him?"

"Yes," Sirius said firmly, "Do you still feel sorry for him?"

"No," Remus admitted, "He's an adult now but he was just a kid when you and James bullied him senseless during school."

Sirius looked irritated about the subject so Remus said, "I am going up to Hogwarts to talk to Severus though. I'm helping him with a potion that could make my transformations less painful."

"Right," Sirius frowned, "Just make sure you keep a close eye on what he puts in it. I wouldn't be surprised if he tried to poison you."

"I will be on my guard," Remus promised with a fond smile, "But your concern is touching."

Sirius smiled slightly, "Well, good luck," he said, putting Harry down briefly on the ground to give Remus a quick kiss goodbye.

"EW! YUCK! KISSING, YUCK!" Harry shouted causing Sirius to grin in amusement.

"His speaking is really coming on," Remus chuckled as they headed into the Manor together.

"That's a dangerous thought," Sirius said, eyeing Harry carefully, "I really need to be careful what I say around him now."

"Yes," Remus said, narrowing his eyes at him, "You do. I'll see you tonight for dinner."

"See you tonight," Sirius said, waving at Remus as he headed out of the front door.

Sirius then looked down at Harry and said, "Come on you, time for a swim."

The day didn't continue as planned for Sirius who fell into the pool after transfiguring a float to hold Harry, then he spilled tea down his front as he fed Harry lunch, then he tripped on his way up the stairs to change Harry's nappy.

The final straw for Sirius came just after he had fed Harry dinner and was waiting for Remus to return from Hogwarts. While making his way to the door to open it after the bell rang Sirius had 3 accidents. First he fell over something invisible and landed flat on his face on the floor, second he skidded across the floor, and 3rd he hit his head against the hard wooden door with a loud curse.

Rubbing the spot on his head where he had hit it Sirius opened the door and was surprised to see Narcissa standing there looking lovely and holding a smartly dressed Draco. Sirius took in her floor length black dress and heavy black winter cloak with a fur trim and frowned, "Are we entertaining tonight?"

Narcissa blushed deeply, "Oh! I'm sorry...Regulus invited Draco and I for dinner tonight...he didn't tell you?"

Sirius shook his head, "No, he didn't but it isn't a problem, come in," he smiled warmly at his cousin and opened the door wider for her to enter the house.

Luckily Sirius was a pretty good all-round wizard and in 5 minutes he had the table ready and the dining room fit for entertaining. Draco looked incredibly adorable in little green dress robes and Sirius excused himself to change Harry into his black and red ones, while he too flung on a set of black dress robes with a pale purple trim.

After Sirius had gotten Narcissa a glass of wine and they were sitting at the table with the two boys playing in front of them, he felt a lot more relaxed.

"How was your day?" Narcissa asked, hiding a smile behind her wine glass.

"Not one of my best," Sirius said with a sigh, "I sat on my chair this morning and it collapsed, then my broom threw me off, I fell into the swimming pool, spilled tea all down myself, fell up the stairs and as I was answering the door to let you in tripped, skidded across the floor and hit my head off of the door."

Narcissa laughed, "I wondered what the thud was."

Sirius shook his head, still not believing the amount of bad luck he'd gotten today, "It's Friday the 13th, I'm sure I'm cursed."

Narcissa smirked and Sirius narrowed his eyes at her, "Do you know something?" he asked.

"No," Narcissa said honestly, still smiling, "But you are a Marauder and do the Marauders not delight in pranking one another?"

"Yes, but..." Sirius began, trailing off as he realised what Narcissa was suggesting, "They planned this! Remus and Reg, they've been planning this together!"

Narcissa laughed once more, "On the bright side, at least you aren't cursed," she said cheerily.

"True," Sirius admitted, "But those two will pay for this one…"

At his words the door to the house opened and Remus met Regulus in the entrance hall. The two wizards stepped into the dining room, Regulus wearing black dress robes and Remus wearing black dress robes with a light blue trim.

"Thank you for telling me that we were entertaining tonight," Sirius said to Regulus.

Regulus had the grace to look sheepish, "I may have forgotten to mention that in my haste to get the west wing ready for Narcissa and Draco."

"Clearly," Sirius mumbled as the doorbell rang once more.

"Ah, that will be Frank and Alice," Remus said with a smile as he made his way out of the room to answer the door.

"I know it was you and Remus who pranked me to think that I was cursed by the way," Sirius said to Regulus with a glare, "Mark my words I'll get you back."

"I am sure you will," Regulus said smoothly, pouring himself a glass of wine as Frank and Alice walked into the room with little Neville running in front of them. The moment he saw Draco he ran over to him. Harry clearly felt left out because he struggled to get out of Sirius's arms so he wouldn't miss out on any of the fun.

"You look lovely tonight Alice," Sirius said as he kissed Alice on the cheek.

"Thank you Sirius," Alice said with a smile as she accepted the glass of wine he handed her.

"Oi Black, stop flirting with my wife," Frank joked.

Alice chuckled, "I don't think I'm his type," she said as she glanced at Remus.

The werewolf smiled to himself, "Yes you're probably right."

The only people who knew about Sirius and Remus's relationship were the current company, the McKinnon's, Dumbledore and Peter which meant that Voldemort had probably known too, or did know if he really was still alive out there. It was the 1980's, but the wizarding world was behind the Muggle world and in wizarding society their relationship would have been highly frowned upon.

"Are we waiting for anymore mystery guests?" Sirius asked, glancing around the table and spotting two more place settings.

Seconds after he had spoken the doorbell rang for the third time. Remus smiled to himself, "That will be Marls and Matt, I'll grab the door."

Regulus's eyes widened, "Marlene is coming? You didn't tell me that Remus!"

Remus smirked and slipped out of the room. Sirius snorted in amusement as Alice started on his little brother, "Why would Marlene being here be a problem?"

"Haven't you heard about Marlene and Reg's big date tomorrow night?" Sirius asked with a grin.

Alice rose an eyebrow, "Really?"

Regulus looked highly embarrassed, "As far as I know she is coming here for dinner tomorrow night."

Frank smiled broadly, "Good on you Regulus!"

Regulus was unsure if Frank was being serious or sarcastic. Either way, they dropped the subject when Marlene and her twin brother stepped into the dining room. Matthew was wearing deep purple dress robes and Marlene looked beautiful in a navy blue dress. She smiled at Regulus the moment she walked into the room and his cheeks burned brightly.

"Okay, what is with the spontaneous dinner party?" Sirius asked, looking around the dining room.

"Well," Remus said, "Because of…what happened at Halloween… we never celebrated your birthday, Sirius. You turned 22 last week."

"Happy late birthday!" The group chorused.

Sirius smiled around at them all, admittedly a little bit teary, "You all came over for my birthday? Thanks guys."

There was a general murmur of, "Don't sweat it," as the group all took their seats at the marble table in the formal dining room while the 3 boys played on a mat that Remus had transfigured onto the floor next to them.

"So to those of you who don't know," Sirius said, clearing his throat, "This is my brother Regulus and this is my cousin Narcissa. She's our new governess."

Marlene raised an eyebrow, "Ever heard of raising your kids the old fashioned way, Black?"

"I work, he's a werewolf and he's a recovering criminal under house arrest," Sirius said with a wave of his hand, "What am I meant to do?"

Remus rolled his eyes, the entire company of the room were now aware of his furry little problem. Sirius had quietly informed Narcissa once she had agreed to live in Potter Manor and she had taken it very well, all things considered.

"When you put it that way," Matthew chuckled, "You do have very little choice."

"Thank you Matt!" Sirius said.

"So are you actually moving in with these idiots then?" Alice asked Narcissa.

Narcissa laughed, "I will be relatively shortly. I managed to procure a buyer for Malfoy Manor today."

"I know," Frank chuckled, "I was the one who put the bid in for it."

"What?" Alice asked in surprise.

Frank then elaborated, "Not me personally, I didn't just buy us a Manor without consulting you Alice."

"I should hope not," Alice said.

Frank laughed, "I put in the bid on behalf of the Ministry. Bagnold thinks it's an opportunity to create a new Auror training campus."

Narcissa smiled, "Well, I am glad some use will come of the place. Frankly, I will just be glad to leave it."

"They have a big plan for it," Frank said, mainly to Sirius, "As of Monday, you and I are on the case. We're in charge of clearing the Manor and making it safe for the general public. We're working in co-operation with the Department of Health and Safety of course."

Sirius scoffed and Remus grinned, "Oh, Sirius, you get to work with your favourite person!"

Sirius glared at his boyfriend, "Please tell me that doesn't mean Bertha Jorkins."

"I'm afraid it does," Frank laughed, sharing grins of amusement with all the others. They all knew about Sirius's history with Bertha, well almost all of them.

"Would anyone care to explain this to Regulus and I?" Narcissa asked politely.

Marlene grinned, "I will _gladly_ explain!"

Sirius glared at her, "I hate you McKinnon."

"The feeling is mutual Black," Marlene said cheerfully as she began her story, "Bertha was a few years above us at school, I think she might have been in your year actually."

Narcissa nodded, "Yes I remember her, she was in Hufflepuff, a very irritating girl as I recall."

Marlene laughed loudly as Sirius nodded his agreement, "Yes, she still is. She has a bit of a crush on Sirius and tends to chase him around the Ministry, she has no idea about him and Remus, of course."

"Ah," Narcissa realised with a chuckle, "And you are now subjected to working with her for a period of time."

"I'm so not looking forward to this," Sirius whined, "Is this Kingsley's way of asserting his authority as the new Head Auror?"

Frank grinned, "Who knows, he just said he reckoned you'd had it too easy under Mad-Eyes regime."

"Why was Mad-Eye replaced anyway?" Matthew asked curiously, "I know I only see you guys for the odd crossover job but I always thought he was a good Auror, if a bit paranoid."

"He's a fantastic Auror," Frank admitted, "But he's much better in a time of war than a time of peace."

Sirius nodded his agreement, "He's paranoid and on his guard which makes him an excellent strategist during a war, I think a lot more Aurors would have died without him really. But the trouble is, he sees evil where there isn't any during peacetime."

"So Kingsley Shacklebolt was promoted in his place," Alice added, "From everything I've seen, I'm optimistic that he's going to be a good leader. He's cleansing the DMLE of all of its spies which it totally needed."

"He's a very interesting guy," Frank said honestly.

"And he's likeable enough," Sirius mused, "We worked with him in the order too."

Those who had been members, Remus, Marlene and Matthew, all nodded and commented that he had seemed like a nice enough man.

"It's a changing department," Frank said with a sad sigh, "A lot of people died and a lot of people are leaving after the horrors they saw in the war, Ali included."

"You're leaving the department, Alice?" Sirius asked in surprise.

Alice shook her head, "Not exactly, I worked in the field throughout the war because, as you know, they needed every able body. Now that the war is over I'm stepping back a little, for Neville."

"Alice has just had her transfer accepted," Frank elaborated, "She's working in the Protection of Vulnerable Persons unit now."

Alice nodded and smiled at Narcissa, "I think I finally found my calling."

Narcissa smiled to herself at this but remained silent. After that the conversation turned away from the DMLE to a different sort of work.

"So Remus," Marlene said, "Are you going to find a job or are you staying at home to help out with Harry?"

"If I could find a job, I would," Remus said, "But the restrictions don't seem to be changing anytime soon. I can't get a job because of what I am."

"Well, not in the wizarding world," Marlene said, "Have you thought about working in the muggle world? You would make a great teacher, I think."

"I don't think that's a good idea, because of my condition," Remus admitted.

"But if that potion you and old Snivellus are working on works then you would be able to," Sirius said.

"What potion is that?" Narcissa asked curiously.

"It's provisionally called wolfsbane," Remus replied, "But it's still in the early stages of development. In theory, I would transform but keep my human mind."

"That would be a huge step forward," Narcissa said, "When I was training as a Medi-Witch, there was no cure for lycanthropy and no potion could help either."

"See Remus," Sirius said with an encouraging smile, "The world is changing, quite quickly too."

"We'll be a progressive society one day," Marlene said with a firm nod, "We just need to take over the Ministry and show those old gits that they don't know anything."

Regulus smiled to himself at her words, she was full of fire and he liked that about her.

"I'll toast to that Marls!" Matthew said, raising his wine glass.

"Here's to overthrowing the Ministry!" The others cheered as they clinked their wine glasses together and laughed.

Regulus was fairly quiet as the others made small talk throughout the meal. He was just grateful to be surrounded by his family and the people he hoped were becoming his friends.

Once they had finished their steak pie and polished off the delicious treacle tart that had been supplied for them by Velda (because steak pie and treacle tart were Sirius's favourite foods), the group decanted into the sitting room across the hall.

"What is it you do for a living, Matthew?" Narcissa asked as she sat down next to the man on a sofa.

"Oh nothing interesting," Matthew said with a wave of his hand, "I just work in the Department of International Magical Co-operation which is a nightmare right now. A lot of our allies gave us money to help in our fight against Voldemort but the trouble is, they want that money back now and we don't have it."

Narcissa turned her nose up, "I admire you, politics is an area I have never had much interest in."

"Neither does Matt but he does alright," Frank joked.

Matthew laughed, "Cheers for that Frankie."

The teasing continued for much of the night, and the conversation flowed easily. At one point they got to talking about children and families.

"So is Neville getting a sibling?" Remus had joked.

Alice laughed and replied, "Of course he is, just not right now. I have just transferred and Frank is rushed off of his feet at work, it's not exactly the opportune time."

"That's understandable," Remus smiled, glancing down at the exhausted Harry who was falling asleep in his lap, "For obvious reasons, Harry is all we will ever have."

"It's good that you at least have him though," Marlene said, stroking Harry's hair.

"What about you Narcissa?" Matthew asked curiously, "Do you think you will ever remarry and have more children?"

Narcissa shook her head, "Oh no, I am more than happy with Draco and the adopted son I seem to have acquired in Harry."

Regulus smiled at that, "We all seem to be acquiring adoptive children at the moment."

"Regulus is Draco's Godfather," Sirius elaborated for those looking confused.

"You'll want your own someday though, won't you?" Frank asked Regulus, "A pretty wife and all?"

Regulus smiled and tried his best not to look at Marlene as he replied, "Of course I do."

"Someone has to keep the Black family line going after all," Sirius said with a barking laugh as he patted his brother on the back.

Regulus cringed inwardly and smiled sheepishly. He was grateful when the subject moved away from him to the McKinnon's.

"So it's just you two singletons to harass now," Frank said, "And we all know Matt is going to be an eternal bachelor."

"Hey, you never know!" Matt objected, "If I meet the woman of my dreams, I'll marry her."

"Matty, the woman of your dreams doesn't exist," Sirius said, eliciting laughs from the rest of the group.

Matthew laughed along with them, "Well maybe I am holding out for something a little too perfect but Marls doesn't have an excuse, have you seen some of the pigs she's dated?"

Marlene glared at her brother, "Why do you always have to comment on who I date? I never bother with who you're dating!"

"That's because I don't date," Matthew grinned.

"Yeah you just sleep with people like the womanising arsehole that you are," Marlene said, flying off into a temper, "Sorry if I actually attempt meaningful, lasting relationships with people who don't meet your high standards in the looks department!"

"Come on Marls," Frank joined in, "You have to admit that the last guy you dated was a total douchebag."

"Yeah, he was," Marlene said somewhat irritably, "But the guy I'm dating now isn't!"

This peaked everyone's attention, Regulus's included.

"Wait, who are you dating?" Matthew asked.

"Yeah who _are_ you dating?" Alice asked, narrowing her eyes at her friend.

"None of your business!" Marlene said, making it clear that she would say no more on the subject.

After her little outburst people started to leave because it was getting late. Alice kissed everyone goodnight, even Regulus much to his surprise.

Frank smirked at Sirius, "See you Monday."

Sirius rolled his eyes and muttered, "Bloody Bertha Jorkins."

Frank laughed loudly as the family headed home to Godric's Hollow. After that Marlene and Matthew got ready to leave and as she grabbed her coat in the entrance hall, Regulus nabbed a moment alone with Marlene.

"So we're dating then?" Regulus asked, raising an eyebrow at her.

Marlene smiled, "I was just saying that to piss Matty off but would you like to?"

Regulus smiled broadly, "Of course I would."

Marlene, who was a little bit shorter than Regulus, reached up and kissed him on the cheek, "Then we're dating. See you tomorrow Reg!"

"See you tomorrow," Regulus said, feeling more content than he ever had as he watched Marlene and Matthew leave, bickering in undertones as they did so.

Narcissa smiled and got to her feet, "I should probably go too."

"When are you moving out of the Manor?" Regulus asked.

"On Monday," Narcissa replied, "Will the house be ready in time?"

"Of course it will," Remus said, "Regulus has been working on it all week."

"Thank you Regulus," Narcissa said, kissing him on the cheek, "I really appreciate it."

"Don't worry about it," Regulus assured her, "It's going to look great when you move in. I made sure there wasn't too much red and gold."

"I really cannot tell you all how grateful I am," Narcissa said truthfully.

"You were right Narcissa, family _is_ important," Sirius said, "Especially in times like these when so many people have lost theirs."

In a rare show of emotion Narcissa hugged Sirius, forgetting she was holding Draco and crushing the boy a little. He yelled, "Ow!"

Narcissa gasped, "Oh sorry darling," she said, putting Draco on the floor where he toddled over to Harry.

Sirius was slightly embarrassed by this display of affection and didn't know how to deal with it. Thankfully he didn't have to as Remus hugged Narcissa and said goodnight. She said goodnight to Regulus as well then she and Draco left.

Everyone else was tired, including Harry who had begun to gurn and moan. They made the decision to put the little boy down to bed and then they all headed off to bed themselves for the evening.

* * *

At 7.25pm on Saturday evening, Regulus was anxiously pacing the entrance hall.

"Regulus, relax," Sirius called from the sitting room, "It's a date not your wedding day!"

"Sirius!" Remus's voice scolded.

"Ouch! Did you just poke the goods?"

Regulus rolled his eyes and called, "If that's what you're up to in there, could you at least use a silencing charm?"

There was some sniggering and then Sirius appeared in the doorway, "You're really nervous, aren't you?"

Regulus nodded, a little embarrassed of the fact, "I don't really do dating Sirius and I don't understand why someone like her would want someone like me."

Sirius smiled at his brother, "I know you're finding it hard to believe Reg, but someone like you is a pretty great person to be."

Regulus looked up in surprise, "Really?"

"Really," Sirius said sincerely, "You betrayed Voldemort, for a house elf. You single headedly gave the Ministry the information they needed to arrest all of Voldemort's followers, you saved Harry's life."

"I thought you hadn't forgiven me yet," Regulus said quietly.

Sirius caught his brother's eye, "I hadn't when I said that, but I have now."

Regulus smiled brightly at his brother and Sirius was reminded of the boy he had known so many years ago. The thought made him glad that he had kept trying to fix things with Regulus over the past few weeks.

Before either brother could say anything more on the subject, the doorbell rang. Regulus swallowed and Sirius chuckled, "Relax Reg, you'll be great."

Regulus nodded and walked to the door. He took a breath and yanked it open, he was prepared to smile and welcome Marlene into the house like a gentleman. However, he hadn't anticipated Marlene looking so beautiful.

His breath caught in his throat as he looked at her standing there in a deep red dress with her wavy hair falling down over her shoulders.

Marlene smiled at him, "Hi? Can I come in?"

Regulus cleared his throat and his cheeks turned red as he nodded, "Yes, sorry."

Sirius shook his head in disbelief from the door of the sitting room. Marlene stepped into the entrance hall and caught sight of Sirius, "Spying again, Black?"

"Just looking out for my little bro-ugh!"

Sirius was cut off when a hand, that looked suspiciously like Remus's, emerged from the sitting room and yanked Sirius inside. The door shut with a snap and Regulus laughed weakly, "Uh…do you want to eat?"

Marlene nodded and walked towards the room that they had eaten in the night before.

"Oh, not that one," Regulus said, "That's the big one, there's a much nicer place. Come on."

Regulus held his hand out to her and she took it with a smile. He led her through the house into a small conservatory with large doors leading out into the darkened garden. The room was big enough for a little circular table for two to be set up in the centre. Fairies danced in jars dotted around on the window sills and the stars twinkled extremely brightly.

"False weather charm," Marlene said thoughtfully as she looked up, "So that it's always a clear night."

Regulus nodded, "Well spotted."

"This is beautiful," Marlene said, looking away from the roof to assess the small room.

Regulus breathed a quiet sigh of relief and pulled her chair out for her. She took her seat and he sat down across from her, "Wine?"

"Yes, please," Marlene said.

Regulus poured her a glass of wine and tried not to jump as Kreacher appeared with a loud crack. He served their starter out and bowed, disappearing from view.

"Are the fairies singing?" Marlene asked as the room fell silent for the first time.

Regulus nodded, "They are a rare form of wood fairy, they sing when they're happy."

"What makes them happy?" Marlene asked curiously.

Regulus's cheeks flushed with colour, "Uh…nothing."

"Oh no," Marlene said, "Not the nothing game again. You should know that it doesn't work on me."

Regulus cleared his throat and looked down at his salad, "They sing when they sense a connection between two people. That's where the muggle tales of fairies singing in rose gardens come from."

Marlene smiled and placed her hand on his across the table, "You don't have to be embarrassed about telling me that. I can feel that there's a connection between us, I don't just go out on dates with anyone you know, regardless of what Matthew says."

"Do you two get on well?" Regulus asked curiously.

Marlene shrugged and sipped her wine, "Kind of. I mean Matt is my brother and I love him but having an over-protective twin brother can get a bit tiring. We were both in Gryffindor so I literally couldn't escape him, he scared away a lot of the more decent guys that I might have dated."

"He won't scare me off," Regulus promised, "I'm used to overbearing Gryffindor brothers."

Marlene grinned, "I bet. Were you and Sirius close as kids?"

Regulus frowned and picked up his wine glass, "When we were very young we got on great. Sirius used to always protect me and stick up for me against our parents. We would run around in the big house we grew up in playing hide and seek every time our cousins came over so we could avoid being kissed and hugged by our aunts."

Marlene laughed, "Sounds about right."

Regulus was smiling at the memories, "We started to drift apart when I was sorted into Slytherin…we never actually talked at school but then in the summer holidays things went back to normal between us, as much as they could at least, until…he ran away from home."

Marlene nodded sincerely, "That must have been hard on you."

Regulus shrugged, "It was what it was. We didn't speak for 6 years after that."

"Really?" Marlene gasped, "Not even at school?"

Regulus shook his head, "He never liked the company I kept, for good reason. The majority of my school friends became Death Eaters."

"Is that why you did it?" Marlene asked as their dishes were cleared away, "Peer pressure?"

Regulus stiffened up at the subject, "Peer pressure from my friends and also from my family."

"Your family wanted you to join up?" Marlene asked, sounding horrified at the thought.

Regulus nodded, unable to meet her eye, "They believed in Voldemort's cause and since Sirius was such a failure in their eyes, they told me that at least one of their sons had to represent them."

"They sound hideous," Marlene said.

"I couldn't see them the same way Sirius did," Regulus admitted as he topped up Marlene's wine glass, "He always knew that they were monsters but I didn't see that until Sirius left…he was right though, as older siblings tend to be."

Marlene nodded thoughtfully, "My older brother was always right, or he thought he was at least. He was sure that he could beat Voldemort in a fight…that was why he never left the family home."

"I am sorry about what happened to him," Regulus said quietly.

Marlene shook her head, "Don't be sorry, you did all that you could. It was his stubbornness that got him killed in the end, the same story goes for my parents…"

"Did you like your parents?" Regulus asked.

Marlene shook her head, "No, I spent my entire time at Hogwarts rebelling against them. My parents were both in Ravenclaw and they expected all of their children to be intellectuals but I didn't want to write books and discover the cure to bloody dragonpox like my great ancestor did."

Regulus watched her with fascination as she spoke. She waved her hands around a lot and he found it rather sweet.

"So when I got sorted into Gryffindor they were horrified. They said that if I had been in Slytherin it would have at least showed that I had some ambition. Gryffindor was a lowly house in their eyes because it signified acting on impulse, Matty took their anger about the subject a lot worse than I did," Marlene mused, "But it basically started a divide between me and Matty and our parents and Malcolm, our older brother."

Regulus nodded, "Trust me, I understand family divides."

Marlene smiled slightly, "I know you do. It's funny though…isn't it? You hate your family until something happens to them and then all of these regrets pop up out of nowhere. When Mum, Dad and Malc were murdered…I suddenly wished that I had done things differently."

"I had a similar situation with my Father," Regulus admitted, he was spilling his heart out to Marlene in a way he had never done before. For some reason he just felt like he could talk to her, she made him feel totally at ease, "He died just after I defected from Voldemort. I used to get my house elf to scavenge old papers for me and when he came home with that one…they said that he died of heartbreak after the disappearance of his son. They never even mentioned my name because I was a Death Eater, therefore my death wasn't worthy of being reported."

Marlene's hand was still on Regulus's. He hadn't realised until she gently squeezed it just then, "Any death is worthy of being reported."

Regulus swallowed and looked at her, "Knowing my Father died because of me…it still haunts me but I know if I had told him the truth he would have hated me for it. Telling him I had defected from Voldemort would probably have triggered the heart attack too."

"That's true," Marlene said with a comforting smile, "So you know that either way, he was weak and nothing you could have done would have made any difference."

Regulus thought about that for a moment. He supposed that she was right, but he had never really been able to see it that way before. A crack pulled him out of his thoughts, he smiled at Kreacher as the elf served their main courses and disappeared with another bow.

"Well," Marlene said as she looked at the plate, "Caesar salad followed by fillet steak, you are trying to impress me. What's for dessert, crème brulee?"

Regulus bit his lip at that comment. Marlene laughed loudly, "Is it really?"

"Do you like crème brulee?" He asked nervously.

"I like food," Marlene replied, "So I'm easy to please, don't look so worried."

Regulus breathed a sigh of relief and it made Marlene smile. The subject of broken families and Death Eaters was thankfully forgotten after that. Instead, they got to comparing their Hogwarts days.

"So what was your favourite class at school?" Marlene asked, "No wait, let me see if I can guess it! Potions?"

Regulus shook his head, "Why does everyone assume that Slytherins love Potions?"

"It wasn't a sweeping generalisation actually," Marlene admitted, "You just seem to have quite an analytical mind which comes in handy for Potions."

"I do," Regulus agreed, "And I was good at Potions but it wasn't my favourite subject."

"It was my worst," Marlene said with a shake of her head, "I could follow the instructions and make the potion but I used to get bored while it was brewing. I'd read a book or have a nap and it would always over brew or explode, there were a lot of explosions actually. It was a miracle that I got an E in my N.E.W.T, Lily helped _a lot._ "

Regulus chuckled, somehow he wasn't surprised that Marlene had a short attention span, "What's your 2nd guess?"

Marlene surveyed him for a moment, "Transfiguration."

Regulus shook his head, "Wrong again, what did you base that one on?"

"You seem to have an eye for detail," Marlene said, motioning around her, "I mean this is cool and very romantic."

Regulus's smile widened, "Thank you, final guess?"

Marlene bit her lip and cocked her head at him. Regulus found it hard to keep a straight face as he watched her blue eyes sparkling mischievously.

"History of Magic."

"Correct," Regulus said, "How did you get it?"

"Thirst for knowledge," Marlene said, leaning back to look at him, "Combined with an eye for detail and an analytical mind. I mean, it's your perfect subject isn't it?"

"I did love it," Regulus said honestly, "I found it fascinating, everyone else fell asleep and I listened intently to everything that Binns said."

"Anyone who can listen intently to Binns has the opposite problem that I have," Marlene joked.

"An over-active attention span?" Regulus asked.

Marlene laughed, "Exactly that."

They lapsed into a comfortable silence after that as they finished off their main course. While they were waiting for their dessert, Regulus leant back so that he could look at Marlene properly, "So Potions was your worst subject but what was your least favourite?"

"Probably Divination," Marlene said, wrinkling her nose, "I nearly got thrown out of our first class when I called the Professor a fraud. He was a total charlatan; I can't believe Dumbledore actually hired him."

"I never took Divination," Regulus admitted, "I can't say that I believe it's possible to tell the future."

"Neither do I and I'm an Unspeakable," Marlene said, raising an eyebrow, "If it was possible, I reckon I'd be the one to know about it."

"Are you allowed to talk about anything within your work?" Regulus asked.

Marlene shook her head, "Not to just anybody. When you sign up you are told you have one person."

Regulus frowned, "One person?"

Marlene nodded, "Your one. It's the one person who you can share information with, they have to sign the statute of secrecy and that is the only person you can talk to about your work."

"Who's your one?" Regulus asked.

"Nobody," Marlene replied, "You can't just change it. It is literally just one person, for your entire life. I'm waiting to make it my Husband."

"That must be lonely," Regulus said, "Not being able to tell anyone."

"It gets hard sometimes," Marlene admitted, "But I love my job so it's worth it and if anyone understands lonely, it's you. You spent 2 years being unable to talk to anyone, you had to let everyone believe you were dead."

Regulus nodded, "But if I had been able to talk to Sirius for example and had been unable to tell him that I was Death Eater or talk about what I had done…I wouldn't have had the strength for it."

"That's why I'm a Gryffindor and you're not," Marlene smiled, "It's why Gryffindor and Slytherin partnerships actually work really well, despite people saying that they would never work. A Gryffindor wants to rush in on impulse and the Slytherin will hold them back and make sure they are making the right decision. Where a Slytherin is too afraid to do or say as they feel, the Gryffindor will help them put their decision into action. A Gryffindor will protect a Slytherin and in return, the Slytherin will watch the Gryffindors back."

Regulus was silent after her little explanation. As he was contemplating her words, Kreacher appeared with a final crack and served their dessert.

Marlene was watching Regulus curiously as she poured cream onto her crème brulee.

"I can't say I have ever thought about it like that," Regulus admitted, "But it makes perfect sense. I think you have just proven that Gryffindors and Slytherins are more compatible than anyone realises."

Marlene smiled, "I might not have followed in my parent's footsteps by becoming a Ravenclaw, but unfortunately I did get something from them. I am very perceptive and far more intelligent than anyone gives me credit for."

"I knew you were intelligent the moment I met you," Regulus said.

"I know you did," Marlene said with a fond smile, "You are the first guy I've met who has seen the intelligence and the humour before the looks and that's why I like you so much."

Regulus smiled to himself at that. He glanced down at his dessert and ate what he could. They had fallen into another comfortable silence that ended when they had polished off their final course.

"Do you want to go for a walk?" Regulus asked, standing up and offering her his hand.

Marlene took it instantly and they stepped out into the chilly garden together. Regulus saw Marlene pull her shawl tightly against her body and he slipped his cloak off, "Here," he said, placing it over her shoulders.

Marlene smiled gratefully at him and let Regulus lead her into what he thought was a secluded part of the garden, "This is the winter garden, it's where the flowers never die."

"It's beautiful," Marlene said, looking around at the magical roses. She smiled to herself as she heard the soft hum of fairies singing, "They're singing again."

Regulus hummed thoughtfully, "Yes, they are," he agreed, looking up to catch Marlene's eye.

"I suppose that connection is really strong then," Marlene said, her eyes never leaving Regulus's.

Regulus just nodded. He knew what he wanted to do but he had no idea if he had the courage to actually do it. As it so happened, he didn't need to muster up the courage to kiss Marlene. As the Gryffindor in the relationship, she just laughed and leaned in, closing the distance between them.

* * *

"She kissed him!"

"Sirius, stop spying!" Remus exclaimed, pulling his boyfriend away from the window.

"But she kissed him!" Sirius said proudly.

Remus looked up from his book and smiled, "And you're happy for him."

"Of course I am, he's my brother," Sirius said, "He deserves to be happy, don't you think?"

"I think we all deserve to be happy after everything that's happened, Regulus included," Remus replied.

Sirius peered up to look out the window again but Remus shoved him out of the way and got to his feet. He glanced out and saw Regulus and Marlene talking in hushed tones and kissing, "Ah how sweet, young love."

Sirius made a face, "I was being a proud brother and now you've just gone and made it cheesy, well done Remus."

Remus grinned at his other half as Sirius stalked irritably from the room.

 **TBC.**


	10. Part 1 - Chapter 10 (End of Part 1)

A Moment in Time

 **10**

On Sunday morning, Sirius walked down the stairs with Harry on his hip whistling a jaunty muggle song Remus had taught him. It was 7am, Sirius was only awake this early because he was used to being up at this time during the week to feed Harry before dropping him off at Narcissa's house.

Normally the kitchen was empty so he expected it to be this morning too. He tried to hide his smirk when he saw Regulus sitting at the table holding a cup of coffee and wearing a goofy grin on his face.

"Have you gone to bed yet?" Sirius asked him, hiding his smile as he placed Harry in his high chair.

"No," Regulus replied.

"Why not?" Sirius asked, busying himself with pouring Harry's cheerio's into a bowl.

Regulus sighed with contentment and Sirius bit back a grin. Harry was looking at him curiously, probably wondering why his Godfather was making so many strange expressions.

"I think I'm in love Sirius."

Sirius's face broke out into a grin at this. Harry frowned and said, "Hungry!"

Sirius snorted in amusement, "Loud and clear Harry. Can you only talk this well when you want something?"

Harry's frown deepened, "Hungry!"

Sirius chuckled and put the dry cereal in front of Harry who immediately began to shovel it into his mouth. Sirius then turned around to look at his younger brother, "You're in love?"

"I think so," Regulus said, "Coffee?"

Sirius nodded and sat down across from him, "So you're in love with Marlene?"

"Who else would I be in love with?" Regulus asked sarcastically.

"There's the sarcastic little shit that I know and love," Sirius said with a smirk, "Marlene left pretty late last night, didn't she? I heard the front door go at about 3am."

Regulus looked at him in disbelief, "Sirius, you are not my Father."

Sirius scoffed, "I know, I'm just saying…late night, y'know?"

Regulus made a face, "No, we were just talking…for hours and hours about…well everything."

"Right, I'm not very good at this whole advice thing-" Sirius began.

"I know," Regulus scoffed.

"But what I'm trying to say is…Marlene is a great girl and I'm really happy for you," Sirius spat out, "I know we bicker like hell but I'd jump in front of a killing curse for her, you know?"

Regulus shook his head slowly, "I don't think that's a normal friendship dynamic."

"My boyfriend is a werewolf, my cousin is my Godsons governess and my brother is on house arrest under my authority," Sirius pointed out, "I don't have any normal friendship dynamics."

"Fair point," Regulus replied, a smile playing on his lips.

"Milk!" Harry shouted from his high chair.

Sirius rolled his eyes, "No Harry. If you want milk you say the magic word."

"Milk, pweeaase," Harry said.

"Much better, thank you," Sirius remarked, handed Harry a sippy cup filled with milk.

"I did want to ask you one serious question," Regulus admitted.

For once Sirius didn't do the 'but I am Sirius' joke. He just nodded and sat back down across from his brother, "I can't guarantee that I'll give you a serious answer but go for it."

"When did you realise that you were in love with Remus?" Regulus asked, "Because I've never been in love before."

Sirius chuckled, "Well that's a really long story, are you sure you want to hear it?"

Regulus nodded, "I feel like we missed out on a lot of each other's lives. I see the way you two are, you love each other unconditionally and it's inspiring. Sometimes I just have trouble understanding how you could go from being the guy who slept with anything that moved to being so in love with Remus and so loyal to him."

Sirius hummed thoughtfully, "Like I said, it's a long story but I'll tell you the abbreviated version. Remus and I were always close, since we met in 1st year. It was always James, me, Remus and Peter and it was pretty rare that we would split off into groups. James always had a thing for Lily, he annoyed her with his persistent crush for years but he didn't actually start chasing around after her until 6th year."

"Okay," Regulus said, leaning forward to hear the story.

Sirius nursed his cup of coffee and continued, "So in 6th year James really began to get obsessed. He spent all of his spare time with Lily and after a couple of weeks of term I got fed up trailing around after him. Peter was studying for the N.E.W.T's harder than anyone else was that year so for the first time ever I was spending a lot of time alone with Remus."

Regulus nodded and Sirius continued, "I was sleeping around a lot that year and Remus went from laughing about it to clearly having a problem with it. I never realised at the time that it was because he liked me, I was a bit oblivious about the whole thing to be honest. Anyway, we were sneaking out to plan a prank on James one night and Filch nearly caught us. We hid in the nearest thing we could find, not realising that it was a vanishing cabinet."

Regulus cringed, "You got stuck in a vanishing cabinet?"

"For 24 hours," Sirius said, a fond smile playing on his lips, "He was annoyed at me at first but then we got talking about the more sensitive things. You know, the things guys don't tend to talk to their friends about like the fact I slept with lots of girls because I was insecure as hell. I think in hindsight, that might have been the night I started to fall for Remus but the actual moment that I _knew_ I loved him…"

Sirius trailed off as he fell into thought for a moment. Regulus watched his brother with interest as Harry ate noisily behind them.

"We had been out in the forbidden forest," Sirius said quietly, "It was near the end of 6th year, I had told Remus how I felt and he was completely avoiding the subject whenever I spoke to him. We hadn't spoken properly in weeks and I was starting to think I had royally screwed up our friendship to be honest. But this night we were running around the forest at the full moon like we always did and something went wrong. Remus got into a fight with a wolf and a whole pack started advancing on us. We just got away and when Remus transformed he was in really bad shape. I sat next to him for hours, performing healing charms and dabbing the blood away just praying that he would open his eyes. As cheesy as it sounds, that was when I realised I was in love with him, it was the moment I knew I couldn't live without him."

"What happened when he did wake up?" Regulus asked, not sure why he was whispering.

Sirius smiled slightly, "I kissed him and the bugger finally admitted that he liked me. Then James walked in and said something along the lines of, oh no you two better not shag in my dormitory!"

Regulus laughed out loud.

Sirius smiled, "And you can come in Remus, there's coffee in here."

Remus rolled his eyes and stepped into the kitchen, "How did you know I was there?"

"There's a floorboard out there that creaks," Sirius replied, smiling at his other half, "So when someone starts to stand on it then silences it, I know they're listening outside the door."

Remus poured himself a cup of coffee and said. "Very perceptive of you and for the record, when I opened my eyes that morning, that was when I knew I loved you too."

Regulus made a face, "This is getting way too corny for my liking, I think I'm going to go to bed."

Remus and Sirius shared an amused grin as the younger man trudged out of the kitchen and dragged himself upstairs.

* * *

"Morning Sirius," Frank said brightly when he saw his friend walk into the Auror department on basement level 2 of the Ministry.

"Morning," Sirius yawned as he sank into his seat in his cubicle.

"That bad a morning?" Frank asked.

"Just a late night," Sirius admitted, "Regulus is very chatty when he's in love…"

Frank snorted, "So his date with Marls went well?"

"They're going out to Diagon Alley together for ice cream on her lunch break today," Sirius replied, "Oh and she's knitting him a sweater so I suppose that means, yes."

Frank laughed and handed Sirius a cardboard cup of coffee, "Well, at least he's happy."

"Yeah," Sirius said, a smile making its way onto his face, "That's true…Narcissa was just starting to move in this morning when I left for work and let's just say, I'm glad I'm here. She has got a lot of stuff, you should have seen the look on Remus's face."

Frank chortled into his coffee, "Your situation just gets weirder and weirder."

"Tell me about it," Sirius yawned, "What's on the agenda for today?"

"We're out in the field hence the cardboard coffee cup," Frank said, "So off your arse."

Sirius rolled his eyes and got to his feet, "Since when are you the senior Auror in this partnership?"

"Since I realised you were incapable of doing the job," Frank replied matter of factly as the pair walked towards the apparition point together.

"I am capable of doing the job, I just don't like authority," Sirius corrected him, "But I also don't like being told what to do…"

"Bit of a catch 22 there mate," Frank pointed out.

Sirius hummed thoughtfully, "True. So, Malfoy Manor today, isn't it?"

Frank nodded as they stood inside the small square concrete room known as the apparition point. It was the only point in the Ministry that you could apparate in and out of so that Aurors could get to scenes of emergency quickly and so that there was a safe, secure point in which to bring in the culprits.

"Yeah," Frank said as he got into position, "I'll brief you when we arrive."

Sirius nodded. They both spun and apparated, appearing moments later outside of the gates of the Manor.

"We have a team of 20 coming in to help," Frank informed Sirius as they made their way up the steps, "We're clearing the Manor of furnishing, carpets, tapestries, portraits, anything like that first of all."

"And then I assume we'll check for secret rooms and ensure they are safe," Sirius guessed.

Frank nodded, "And then we'll need to clear the attic and cellar of any dark objects that I'm sure we'll find there."

"And finish off by doing a final sweep of the house and making sure it's safe for the general public," Sirius finished.

"Yes," Frank said as they reached the front door.

"Weeklong job then," Sirius said.

"Hopefully," Frank said, unlocking the door and stepping into the entrance hall, "But you know what clear outs of big old houses like this are like. The Crouch place took a month because of all the hidden rooms and torture chambers."

Sirius nodded as he remembered that case, "Yeah…let's hope it's not quite as bad as that one."

"I thought Narcissa had moved out already," Frank frowned, looking at all the furniture.

"She has," Sirius confirmed as he looked around, "But I think she would rather start afresh than keep this stuff. Most of it was Lucius's and had been in the Malfoy family for years."

"I see," Frank said, "Well it will go to charity now or it might be kept as furnishings for the campus. Anyway let's get started on the itinerary for today before the team arrive."

"And by team you mean Bertha," Sirius muttered.

"Speak of the devil," Frank whispered as the doors opened.

"Sirius!"

"Oh Merlin, Godric, Salazar, Rowena and Helga, help me!" Sirius murmured, ignoring Frank's rather wicked cackle.

* * *

"I…hate…my…job," Sirius said slowly as he sunk into a sofa in the sitting room.

"Why today?" Remus asked casually.

"Bloody Bertha Jorkins," Sirius muttered, "The job isn't that bad, Malfoy Manor is proving pretty easy compared to some of the Death Eater torture chambers we've had to clear out. But that bloody woman!"

Regulus snorted, "Still in love with you?"

"Unfortunately," Sirius muttered, "How was your ice cream date with Marlene?"

"Fine," Regulus replied, "And you don't have to follow every moment of our relationship you know."

"Yes, we do," Remus said from the corner, "Because you tell us everything Reg."

"Multiple times," Sirius added as Regulus went red in the face.

Regulus muttered that he did no such thing and Sirius decided to change the subject by asking, "Did Narcissa get moved in okay today?"

"Eventually," Remus said, putting his book down to look at Sirius, "She has a lot of clothes and shoes."

Regulus smiled in amusement, "She's a woman, what do you expect?"

"Not 10 trunks full," Remus muttered, "She was happy enough once it was all in though and she's quite settled. Regulus gave her one of the big double rooms and Draco has a nursery across the hall from her."

"She has her own private sitting room up there too," Regulus added, "So she doesn't have to be stuck with us all night unless she wants to. I kind of want my own sitting room as well so I don't have to walk in on you two snogging and so I can bring Marlene around."

"You have a bedroom, take Marlene there," Sirius said offhandedly.

Regulus glared at his brother and opened his mouth to say that not everyone jumped into bed the second they were in a relationship. Before he had a chance the door creaked open and Narcissa slipped in, "Am I interrupting anything?"

"Of course not," Remus smiled, "Are you settled?"

"Very much so, thank you," Narcissa said softly, "I just put Draco to sleep and he went down straight away which he has never done."

"Well they say things that we can't see or hear affect children," Regulus mused, "Maybe Malfoy Manor had a negative aura."

"Perhaps," Narcissa mused, "Regardless, I feel like Draco will be far happier here than he ever was in Malfoy Manor."

"I hope you will be too," Regulus said.

Narcissa smiled at him, "I will be, now that our family has come together again."

"We aren't quite back together," Sirius said thoughtfully, "I haven't spoken to Andromeda in a long time, have you Reg?"

"The last time I saw her was in the Christmas holidays of my 1st year," Regulus mused, "That was when she told the family she was pregnant and ran away with that muggle-born."

"Ted, I think he was called," Sirius said, "I was about 13 at the time."

"I saw Andromeda when her daughter was born," Narcissa confessed, "I visited her with a small gift…that was 8 years ago…"

"Don't you think you should visit her?" Sirius asked, "She is your sister after all."

Regulus nodded, "Look at Sirius and I, I never thought we could have reconciled but we have."

"If you were close as kids you really ought to," Sirius prompted her, "We have so little family that we can rely on these days, do you want to lose one of the few who still care?"

Narcissa sighed and looked down, "I know…Andromeda and I do need to straighten some things out…"

* * *

"Why don't we play never have I ever?"

Regulus raised an eyebrow at Marlene, "What age are we?"

Marlene rolled her eyes and flopped back onto Regulus's bed, "It's to get to know each other better Reg."

"The last time I did that while drinking I got beaten up," Regulus said matter of factly.

Marlene sat up and frowned at him, "By who?"

"My brother," Regulus replied.

Marlene got to her feet a little unsteadily, "Your brother! Oh I am so going to kill him!"

"Marlene!" Regulus called in exasperation as the blonde woman marched out into the hall.

He jogged to catch up with her but she was fast, even after at least two bottles of wine. By the time Regulus got downstairs, Marlene had already marched into the sitting room and had started on Sirius, "How dare you beat your brother up, Black!"

Sirius raised an eyebrow at her, "Marlene, are you drunk?"

"No!" Marlene objected far too loudly, "Why would you even suggest that?"

Regulus looked at her in exasperation, "Marlene, it's fine. I can defend myself you know."

"Well if I'm honest, you didn't do a great job of defending yourself," Sirius pointed out.

"Sirius, you're an Auror," Regulus said incredulously.

Marlene raised her hand, "He makes a good point!"

"And you, are drunk," Regulus said quietly, "Maybe you should go to bed, Marlene."

"That…" Marlene said, "Is an excellent idea, I thought you would never ask. Come on Reg."

Before Regulus knew what was happening, Marlene had grabbed his hand and was pulling him back up the stairs. He had to hide his amused smirk as he directed her back to his room although she insisted that she totally knew where she was going.

When they had finally reached the room and the door had clicked shut behind them Marlene said, "You are the complete opposite of your brother. He's a prick who jumps into bed with people too quickly and you are too much of a gentleman. I didn't even know that was a thing but it definitely is because it is you Reg, you are that thing."

Regulus smiled and claimed her lips, "You're rambling Marls," he whispered.

"I know, I know, just shut me up already," Marlene muttered back.

Needless to say, it didn't take long to shut her up.

* * *

"Stop worrying, I'm sure it will be fine," Remus said with a smile as Narcissa put her coat on and lifted Draco up.

"I hope so," Narcissa said as she took a deep breath.

"Andromeda is your sister," Remus reminded her, "It will be fine."

"I don't know if the Black family are capable of another Sirius/Regulus-esque miracle," Narcissa said as she put Draco's coat on him, "And Andromeda always had a fierce temper, she could have been a Gryffindor if she had wanted to be."

"Is that why you're taking Draco with you?" Remus asked with a chuckle.

"I figure that she can't curse me if I'm holding a baby," Narcissa joked.

Remus laughed, "Good luck, Narcissa."

"Thanks Remus," Narcissa said, still smiling slightly as she left the house with Draco and apparated to the home that her older sister Andromeda shared with her husband and daughter.

Narcissa and Andromeda had been very close when they were children as there was barely a year's age gap between them. Narcissa truly missed her sister but 8 years was an awfully long time. She took a deep breath and walked up the path to the fairly modest house that Andromeda lived in. It wasn't a Manor but it was a lovely big house that stood alone in a beautiful, vast garden.

Narcissa gathered her wits, raised her hand and knocked on the door. She was expecting a house elf to answer so she got a surprise when Andromeda herself opened the door. It had been 8 years but Andromeda looked exactly the same as Narcissa remembered. She looked very like their elder sister, Bellatrix, but she was far more beautiful. Andromeda had pale skin and tight deep brown curls. She had always had short hair, unlike Bellatrix, which was what set the two sisters apart.

"Narcissa," Andromeda said, her eyes widening as she took in the sight on her doorstep.

Narcissa smiled weakly, "Hello Andromeda."

Andromeda swallowed and took a step back, "You had better come in."

Narcissa could not read the tone of her sister's voice. All the same, she clutched Draco tightly and stepped into a fairly small entrance hall. Andromeda closed the front door and walked into a sitting room where she motioned for Narcissa to sit down.

Narcissa took a seat and settled Draco on her lap. She looked up at her sister who was watching her suspiciously, "Tea?"

"Yes please," Narcissa replied.

Andromeda nodded and clicked her fingers. A teapot in the corner of the room began to sort itself out and Andromeda kept her gaze on her younger sister, "It has been 8 years."

"I know," Narcissa said honestly, "And I am so sorry about that Andromeda. The last 8 years have been the most terrible of my life and I was forbidden to contact you. Lucius read all of the post that came in and out of the Manor, he had the house elves follow me everywhere."

"He was sentenced to life in Azkaban for his crimes," Andromeda said, her eyes flickering to Narcissa's arm, "You weren't a part of that, were you?"

"Of course not," Narcissa replied. She lifted her sleeve and showed her sister her bare forearm, "Our little cousin, Regulus, was. He defied Voldemort and handed over his followers to the Ministry, Lucius included. I am divorced Andromeda, as soon as Lucius was incarcerated I began proceedings."

Andromeda frowned slightly, "How could you divorce him without his permission?"

Narcissa swallowed and replied, "Exceptional circumstances."

Andromeda's eyes widened, "Narcissa…does that mean…"

Narcissa nodded and cast her eyes downward, "I expect it means exactly what you fear it does."

"When did it start?" Andromeda asked quietly.

"From the moment that I married him," Narcissa replied quietly, "It was 8 years of torture and the only good thing that came of it was Draco."

Andromeda looked at the baby that she rocked on her knee. She frowned and looked up at her sister with unshed tears in her eyes, "Was he a result of…the abuse?"

Narcissa had no words, she could only nod.

Andromeda got to her feet angrily and walked towards the tea that was still making itself, "Bastard."

"He is suffering for it now," Narcissa said quietly, so quietly that Andromeda barely heard her, "Azkaban is the worst kind of prison."

"And it's exactly where he deserves to rot for the rest of his days," Andromeda said vehemently, "Why did you not come to me sooner? I could have shielded you, I could have taken you in and protected you!"

"I was terrified that Lucius would hurt me if I tried," Narcissa replied softly, "And once I had Draco, I was so afraid that he would hurt him that I simply did what I was told."

Andromeda sighed and placed a cup of tea down in front of Narcissa, "I wish I could have protected you Narcissa, you are my baby sister."

Narcissa took a sip of the tea and smiled fondly, "You remember how I take it?"

"How could I forget?" Andromeda asked, reaching across the table and grasping her sisters hand, "A sugar cube and a half, a dash of milk and just a touch of ginger."

For a reason she could not fathom this made Narcissa's eyes well up with tears. Andromeda noticed and swept her sister up into her arms, "I have missed you ever so much, Andromeda."

"I have missed you too, Cissa," Andromeda whispered, holding her sister tightly, "And I am so sorry about everything that wicked man put you through."

"It is in the past now," Narcissa assured her as they sat down and dabbed at their eyes, "And I want to leave it there."

"I understand," Andromeda said, pouring herself a cup of tea, "Heavens, this is too much emotion for 9am on a Sunday."

Narcissa smiled sadly, "I came here to make amends Andromeda. I was a naïve teenager when you left. I was being forced into a marriage with Lucius and I was too afraid to break free and visit you…I was punished badly enough for slipping away to see you when you gave birth to Nymphadora."

"Let's leave the past in the past," Andromeda said, "We were close as children, we can be that close again, I am certain of it."

"I would love that," Narcissa admitted.

"I have not had a jot of news from our family in 8 years Narcissa. Are Mother and Father still alive?"

"No, Mother died 3 years ago and Father about a year after her," Narcissa replied.

"And I did not even receive an invite to the funerals," Andromeda sighed.

"Bellatrix planned them both," Narcissa admitted.

"And what of Bellatrix?" Andromeda asked darkly.

"She is in Azkaban," Narcissa replied in a very quiet voice, "Alongside my ex-husband. I suspect she would delight in sharing a cell with him."

Andromeda raised her eyebrows, "You don't mean what I think you mean?"

"Lucius is a Malfoy, Andromeda," Narcissa stated bitterly, "He would stoop so low as to sleep with my sister and not care about how it affected me."

"How did you end up in this marriage Cissa?" Andromeda asked, shaking her head in disbelief.

"It was arranged," Narcissa said darkly, "I was 'promised' to him before I finished Hogwarts and we married when I was 18."

"I presume Father arranged it," Andromeda said in an angry undertone.

"Of course he did," Narcissa said, "What better way to make his family seem important than marrying off his youngest daughter to Lucius Malfoy?"

"A key political player," Andromeda noted, "Although presumably not now he's imprisoned."

Narcissa nodded, not commenting.

"Did you get much from the divorce?" Andromeda asked curiously.

"The Manor. However, I sold it. It has far too many bad memories," Narcissa said.

"I can understand why," Andromeda said darkly. However, a smile was brought to her face as Draco began to chatter nonsense, "But I see why you say you got something good out of the marriage."

"Yes," Narcissa said, a genuine smile coming to her lips as she looked at her son, "Better than good, he is my little ray of sunshine."

"What is his full name?" Andromeda asked.

"Draco Regulus Black," Narcissa replied.

"After our baby cousin?" Andromeda asked.

"Yes," Narcissa nodded, "Regulus and Sirius have fast become like brothers to me. I live in a wing of Potter Manor with Draco so that I can help them look after little Harry."

Andromeda sighed, "A dreadful situation, that little boy being orphaned and left with barely anything in the world."

Narcissa smiled, "I would say he has rather a lot actually. The Black family have virtually adopted that little boy and it saddened us that you were not included in that."

Andromeda returned her smile, "If Regulus can return from the dead after all he did and be forgiven by Sirius, I am certain you and I will find our way. What age is little Draco?"

"He's 1 and a half," Narcissa replied fondly as Draco grabbed her finger and tried to eat it.

"Dora has just turned 8," Andromeda said as she got to her feet, "She has changed rather a lot from your first glimpse of her. She's with her tutor at the moment but I shall fetch her so you can officially meet each other."

Andromeda left the room and Narcissa smiled down at her son who was happily gurgling away to himself. Draco had never spoken until he met Harry and now his speech was coming along miraculously. She truly believed that living in Potter Manor was the best thing for herself and her little boy.

A moment later Andromeda returned with a young girl who looked adorable. Her hair was light brown and her eyes were a deep purple.

"Dora this is your Aunt Narcissa," Andromeda said to the girl.

She smiled at Narcissa and said, "That's a nice baby."

"Thank you," Narcissa said with a smile, "This is Draco, he is your cousin."

"He's cute," Nymphadora said as she stroked Draco's soft blonde hair.

"He likes you," Narcissa said as Draco giggled.

Nymphadora then changed her hair colour to bright green and Draco said, "Ooh!"

Andromeda chuckled at Narcissa's surprise, "Dora's a Metamorphmagus," she told her sister.

"Again!" Draco said, clapping his hands.

Nymphadora then made her hair a vivid red and Draco clapped happily, "Again! Again!"

"He likes that Mummy!"

Andromeda smiled at the interaction, "Yes, he does Dora."

"That is fascinating," Narcissa said, "They are incredibly rare."

Andromeda nodded and smiled at her daughter, "She is unique."

Nymphadora was still playing with Draco, and Narcissa felt very content. She had always been close to Andromeda and lately she had been missing her very much.

"That's enough Dora," Andromeda said kindly, "You had better get back to your tutor."

Nymphadora nodded, "Yes Mother," she said with a smile as she bounced out of the room.

Narcissa smiled, "She is adorable."

Andromeda smiled widely, "I'm very proud of her already."

"I am sorry that I have missed so much," Narcissa said, feeling incredibly guilty.

"Don't be," Andromeda said, "I lost a lot when I ran away with Ted at 18 and had Dora scarcely a year later. I knew how much I was giving up before I did it, I can't blame you for my decision."

"You shouldn't have lost me in the first place," Narcissa said, "Family is so important, I only wish I had realised that sooner."

"I am just glad that you are here now," Andromeda said, hugging her sister once more.

"So am I."

* * *

Sirius stopped on the stairs and grinned when he heard familiar whisperings in the kitchen. He performed a silencing charm on the creaky plank and slipped into the kitchen unnoticed.

"Mooorniiiing," He said loudly, grabbing himself a cup of coffee.

The couple sitting at the table jumped apart and looked like two deer who had been caught in the headlights. Regulus and Marlene looked suitably dishevelled this morning and Sirius found it far more hilarious than he should have done.

"Sleep well, did we?"

"Bugger off, Black," Marlene muttered irritably.

"Legally, I own this house until Harry comes of age," Sirius said with a satisfied smirk, "And you cannot control a man in his own house. It's my naughty little brother who has been doing naughty things in my house I think you will find."

"Sirius, this is embarrassing, just please go away," Regulus whined.

"No…I don't think I will actually," Sirius said cheerfully, "Because if you and Marls are going to be together which it looks like you are…she's going to be spending a lot of time here with you being on house arrest and all. I guess that means you're just going to have to get used to me Marlene."

Regulus and Marlene both groaned and let their heads fall loudly onto the table in unison. Sirius cackled wickedly as he left the kitchen, coffee mug in hand.

* * *

 **24** **th** **of December, 1981.**

The entire gang were gathered together in Potter Manor. They had all eaten together and then decanted into the sitting room once Harry and Draco were in bed, Neville was sharing with Harry tonight so that the adults could all drink and have a good time.

Sirius had gathered everyone together with no real reason as of yet. Once everyone was in the siting room however, he got to his feet and called for attention.

"I know you are probably all wondering why I called you all here," Sirius said, "And I was sort of telling the truth when I said it was an early Christmas party, hence all of the mistletoe and the big Christmas tree."

"Get on with it Black."

"I'm getting to it McKinnon," Sirius said, smiling at the blonde woman who had Regulus's arm wrapped around her shoulder.

"I wanted all of us to spend Christmas Eve together to soften the blow of James and Lily not being here this year," Sirius admitted as he looked around at the closest thing he had to a family. Remus was standing by the door, a mug of eggnog in hand. Alice and Frank were cosy on one of the armchairs by the fire. Matthew and Narcissa were the only remaining singletons but he was happily nursing a firewhiskey. Narcissa was sitting on an armchair close to Andromeda and her cheery husband, Ted. Marlene and Regulus were watching Sirius with interest as they awaited the entirety of his speech.

"And honestly, it has helped. It has helped me and I know it has helped Remus but I think it has been great for all of us to just be together and be happy," Sirius said, "So, as you lot all know, James bought me a guitar for my 13th birthday. I think he did it for the sole purpose of annoying my parents and it really worked, didn't it Reg?"

Regulus laughed and nodded, "Yes, they absolutely hated it but as I recall, you were pretty good."

Sirius smiled, "I hope so because I've been writing a song about the last few months and I want you guys to be the first to hear it."

Remus smiled proudly at Sirius as he grabbed his guitar from the corner of the room and sat down on a footstool, resting it on his lap.

"Serenade us then Sirius," Frank called.

Sirius laughed and began to strum out the first few chords of what sounded at first like a slow, mournful song. After a few seconds Sirius began to sing, he had a very good voice. It was smooth and soft, Remus found it very relaxing and it had always soothed Harry to sleep.

" _And you asked me what did I want this year? And I'll try to make this kind and clear, just the chance that maybe we'll have better days…"_

Remus smiled and looked around at the mesmerised faces watching Sirius sing and play. Regulus in particular was amazed, he knew his brother could play the guitar but Remus doubted he had ever seen him perform.

" _Cause I don't need boxes wrapped in string, or designer brooms or empty things, just a chance that maybe we'll have better days…"_

Alice put her hand in Franks and he squeezed it tightly, Remus found himself torn between watching Sirius and watching his friends react to the beautiful piece of music that Sirius had written.

" _So take these words and sing out loud, cause everyone is forgiven now…cause tonight's the night the world begins again…"_

The song was symbolic of the end of the war and the start of a new era. The night Lily and James had died had felt like the end of the world but in a way, so much good had come of it. None of them truly believed that Voldemort had been vanquished for good but they did know that there would be peace, for a time.

Now that the world had stopped reeling from the horrors of war, now that they were on the cusp of entering 1982 and putting the events of the past behind them, the world truly was beginning again.

" _Now we've someplace simple where we can live and there's something only you can give, and that's faith and hope and love while we're alive…"_ Sirius sang directly to Remus.

Remus had seen the song written down on paper but hearing Sirius sing it still made his eyes a little watery. He smiled at his boyfriend and swallowed the lump in his throat. They had a roof over their heads and they were happy, as happy as they could be without James and Lily in their lives. They had lost so much in the war but they also had a lot to be thankful for and they often forgot that.

" _And there's one poor child who saved this world, and there's ten million more who probably could. Can we all just stop and raise our wands to them?"_

Everyone in the room knew that the reference was to Harry. Upon hearing the words they all raised their wands which emitted a soft golden light, they shut their eyes as Sirius continued to strum softly.

Remus wiped away the tears in his eyes and looked at his friends. He saw tears running down both Frank and Alice's cheeks, even Marlene and Matthew seemed touched by the song. Regulus, like Remus, had a lump in his throat. Ted sat very solemnly with his wand in the air. Narcissa and Andromeda were just as emotional as the others, they seemed to be fighting to hold back tears as they raised their wands with the others.

" _So take these words and sing out loud, cause everyone is forgiven now…cause tonight's the night the world begins again…"_

The wands remained in the air and the golden light from all 9 wands began to combine above Sirius's head. Sirius had no idea of what was going on above his head as he looked down at the strings and continued to play. The song was coming to its climax now and it had certainly had an effect on the audience.

" _I know everyone is loved tonight, and somehow we stopped this endless fight. There's a chance that maybe we'll have better days…"_

The golden shape above Sirius finally took the shape of a beautiful, glimmering phoenix. As Sirius sang the last few bars of the song, everyone opened their eyes with tears gleaming in them and looked at the phoenix in awe.

" _So take these words and sing out loud, cause everyone is forgiven now…cause tonight's the night the world begins again."_

The song came to an end and Sirius had tears in his own eyes as he looked at the phoenix that was lighting up the room. He knew in that moment that everything was going to be okay. He had his family, he had his friends, he had Remus and he had Harry.

He knew then that it wasn't just enough, it was _more_ than enough.

 _ **TBC.**_

 _ **A/N: Okay so this story is sort of going in a different direction now. Basically it would take forever to write the whole childhood and school days of the kids (I mean it took JK 7 books just to write the school years!) So this story is going to be in 'flashes'.**_

 _ **The next flash is 5 years later and there will be 10 chapters on the kids, the adults, whats happened and what is happening etc.**_

 _ **If you don't like stories like that I apologise but doing it any other way would be so time consuming.**_

 _ **ALSO, the song Sirius sang to Remus is a slightly adapted version of 'Better Days' by 'The Goo Goo Dolls'**_ _ **disclaimer: which isn't mine, I didn't make it up or steal it. Full credit to the awesome band who came up with it.**_

 _ **Peace,**_

 _ **Holly**_

 _ **xxx**_


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